


Adrift (In The Skies You Gave Me)

by Ezellia



Category: The Legend of Zelda & Related Fandoms, The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
Genre: M/M, Now with sexually suggestive content!, Pre-Calamity, Sheikah Slate take the wheel, Sign Language, Slow Burn, fast and loose with Rito culture, kinda enemies to friends to lovers, pretty darn canon
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-05
Updated: 2018-01-14
Packaged: 2018-11-23 14:06:24
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 25
Words: 78,832
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11403978
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ezellia/pseuds/Ezellia
Summary: Revali’s intended first impression upon Link, foretold hero of all Hyrule, misses its mark so widely that he considers forfeiting his bow. Luckily he hangs onto it, because soon there is love, war, and, well. You know how this story ends. But it's what happens in between, the fighting and falling in love, that makes everyone okay and ready for a second beginning.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I saw this post on tumblr by thekakapocantalk (https://thekakapocantalk.tumblr.com/post/161329857377/botw-fandom-on-day-1-lets-run-around-naked-and)
> 
> BotW fandom on Day 1 : let’s run around naked and set shit on fire!!!  
> BotW fandom on Day 89 : ARE YOU A BIRD FUCKER OR A FISH FUCKER
> 
> That post is a major motivating factor behind writing this. 
> 
> I have not completed the game in its entirety, but hope to do so by the time this work is halfway done at most. I did my best to keep things canon, but forgive me if there are any gaping errors! Please enjoy.

Revali’s intended first impression upon Link, foretold hero of all Hyrule, misses its mark so widely that he considers forfeiting his bow. Considers. He swoops in with practiced grace, makes his speech with intent, and even circles him like prey for good measure, something Link would no doubt recognize deep in his warrior bones. Revali is certain he’s established a semblance of dominance, thinking he has left the great hero and his oh so great sword speechless in awe as he summons his gale. He is lifted by this triumph, all the way up to the wings of Medoh. When he is out of sight for the Hylian, with his big, blue, near sighted eyes, Revali perches and peers down at where he left this so called hero.

Link shows none of the embarrassing reactions he’d hoped to elicit. Link does not stomp his foot or nock an arrow and demand that Revali return to even ground and fight him like a Champion; Revali said man once, and Urbosa swore to have his soft, grey down feathers for a bed fur should he dare say it again.

Let it be known that Revali, Champion of the Rito, fears no _man_.

He’s a curious thing, this Hylian. Revali watches as Link continues to stare up at Vah Medoh, up at _him_. But that would be impossible; he couldn’t have the eyes to be staring back. Nevertheless, Revali feels himself shrinking slightly. Only slightly. Eventually, Link’s hair settles in the aftermath of Revali’s gale, and when the air surrounding him falls still he turns from the flight deck and begins a slow but sure walk back to the Elder’s roost, where his Princess and entourage are surely waiting.

Revali clicks his beak at that. But he does not huff in annoyance, or fiddle with the feathered tips of his arrows in frustration while he ponders this Link. And he most certainly does not _mope_ , up high and away from the others on Medoh’s faithful back. That would be most unfitting for a Champion, and in fact the opposite outcome of this entire venture.

And not in a million years does the Elder have to send a messenger up to Medoh to fetch Revali for the feast thrown in Princess Zelda’s honor, for which he is twenty minutes late.

* * *

Revali finds himself seated not three seats down from Link. Princess Zelda and the Elder sit in the middle, sharing in easy and polite banter as people of their social status are expected to do. The Hero sits at Zelda’s right - probably sleeps, eats, and breathes there, Revali thinks – and he sits at the Elder’s left. Revali curses the fates that he cannot be seated elsewhere so that he might study Link for any reaction or display of emotion that was infuriatingly absent from their first encounter. He has no such luck from his current seat, and resigns himself to poking at his food for most of the meal. Eventually a Rito fledgling manages to catch Zelda’s attention, hoping to sing her a song, and the Princess is easily led away by the children, followed closely by Link.

“Not much of a talker, that one,” Revali wonders just loud enough for the Elder.

Kaepora Gaebora, esteemed Rito Elder and third of his name, which Revali finds ridiculous, turns on him rather suddenly. “No less spoken than my own son.” The Elder rotates his head, and despite steeling himself Revali deflates slightly under the scrutiny. “I may not have hatched you, but I most certainly raised you to be better behaved than that. Not a kind word to the Princess all dinner.”

Revali ruffles his feathers in embarrassment but says nothing.

“Do not forget they gave you the gift and honor of Vah Medoh. Hardly an easy choice for them among all in Hyrule.”

“I was the clear choice.” Revali mutters, clicking his beak. He is secretly rather glad that the festivities keep the other Rito around them from noticing that he is being scolded by his father, as if he were a fledgling again. “I will make pleasantries with the Princess after dinner,” He finally offers reluctantly.

“And give her a tour of the village.”

“And give her a tour of the village.”

The Elder lets out a gentle hoot of satisfaction. “You are brave, Revali. You are strong and you are our Champion. But sometimes you still act as if your wings are wet. Tell me, what has the Hero of Hyrule done to offend you so?”

Revali clicks his beak again, slouching in his chair as his eyes scour the nearby landings before settling on the Hero himself, watching from the side as the Princess delights in the children’s songs. “Nothing,” He admits bitterly. “Not a word.”

The Elder hums and follows Revali’s gaze to watch the Princess and her Knight. “They say he is a mute.”

Revali frowns at that. “A mute? In servitude to the Princess?”

Another soft hoot as the Elder ponders the knight in the distance. “Yes, it would seem true. He supposedly speaks in signs, with his hands. Quite curious, for a boy often grasping a sword.”

“Foolish, I’d think.” Revali folds his arms, even more incensed at the idea of Link being mute rather than just ignoring him. “What good is a knight that cannot use his voice on the battlefield? How is he to work with others?”

The Elder laughs at that, loudly and genuinely. “How is he to work with others indeed, Revali.”

“I must have missed the joke. Surely it was not at my expense,” Revali grumbles, but as always cannot find it in himself to be genuinely upset.

“Certainly not, oh Champion.” The Elder offers Revali a pat on the shoulder that the younger Rito finds utterly unnecessary and condescending. “Mute, perhaps. But they also say he is undefeated on the battlefield. Unparalleled.”

Revali scoffs at that. “On the ground, perhaps. But there is an entire battlefield of it’s own in the sky. I wonder if he is as skilled there.”

“So you shall see,” The Elder agrees, gently patting his belly. “I expect you to write of your travels to Hyrule Castle. At the very least every other week."

“I am no longer a fledgling.”

“And yet I am always a father.”

Revali cannot think of a reply, and grudgingly makes a mental note to pack a third or perhaps fourth bundle of parchment into his pack before he sleeps that night. The Elder hums to himself in satisfaction.

* * *

"I must thank you again for the hospitality of your people.” The Princess tells Revali as Rito Village disappears over the horizon, inch by inch as they make their way east towards Hyrule Castle. “It has been a long many months on the road and Rito village was a welcome respite. Isn’t that right, Link?”

Link, who follows the lead of Zelda’s snow white mount, nods in the general direction of Revali and his horse. The Hero has not said a word to Revali since they set out early in the morning. Well, obviously, if he is mute. What Revali means is that he has not thrown him glares of dislike or made any aggressive hand motions in Revali’s general direction. No, Link behaves perfectly polite and detached, as if their encounter on the flight deck in Rito Village had never occurred.

It makes Revali feel horribly silly, having taken the first impression so seriously.

“My people are always happy to welcome you, Princess.” Revali offers lamely once he finally peels his eyes from Link. “Your presence is an honor in itself.” He adds as an afterthought because it feels proper. 

“Oh, please.” The Princess laughs, and Revali hates to admit that the sound is damn near melodic. “Call me Zelda.”

“I couldn’t.”

“I insist.” she insists indeed, flashing him a smile that would make a lesser man’s heart skip a beat. “If we are to travel together, I would like you to think of me as a friend, not a Princess.”

“I, well,” Revali offers lamely.

“Besides.” Zelda turns back to the road and her horse, leaning down to gently pat the creamy white mane of her steed in a soothing manner. “Link says that friendships are better made in such ways.”

“Well, who am I to deny that.” Revali replies and peers slightly backwards. Link has almost come up equal with him, and when he meets the Rito’s gaze he nods gently in acknowledgement, but his face is still impeccably unreadable. 

Revali wonders if there is a polite way to ask whether Link _says_ that or whether Link _signs_ that, but ultimately decides against it.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The length of the chapters will vary quite a bit. I try to make breaks and end chapters when it feels right, which makes the word count wonky.

Two days into the week long trip to Hyrule Castle, Revali’s questions are finally answered. It is just a fortnight before they are meant to meet Urbosa and Daruk, both travelling from Gerudo Town to Central Hyrule. Zelda, as Revali now calls her, has reached a certain familiarity with him and has been questioning him about Medoh all morning. Revali would normally find himself annoyed, but any detail he gives about the working of Medoh or how he’s learned to synchronize with it in the air is met with praise and coos of awe. She even forces them to camp for lunch as she scribbles his words furiously in her notes.

Revali is appropriately flattered.

Link, however, is either entirely unimpressed or mentally elsewhere, as he has been for the past two days. Not a word has passed his lips the entire trip, but not necessarily in a suspicious way. Revali cannot bring himself to engage him directly in conversation; something about the Hero yet sets his feathers on edge. Zelda, however, addresses Link often, and is always met with shrugs, nods, shakes of a head and sometimes the rare smile or frown.

It would seem for the most part, Link is all there.

Revali has heard it before, that sometimes the _slower_ fighters can be the strongest, and he does not mean reflexes. They do not overthink to throw their necks on chopping blocks for their charge. However, Revali could not imagine the sword that seals the darkness would choose an invalid as its wielder. Never mind the way it bleeds his pride to think that he was tapped to play support to such a hero, if that were the case.

Henceforth, most certainly for reasons besides his pride, Revali discards the idea that Link is a simpleton.

Zelda is speaking a mile a minute, jumping from the structure of Medoh’s wings to the complicated legs of Naboris when Link halts his horse in front of them, raising a single fist. Zelda’s horse stops dead in its tracks before she even notices, and when she does she goes deathly still. Revali chooses to follow suit and wait.

For the first time, finally, Link turns to them and signs something quick with his hands, something that goes right over Revali’s head.

“Moblins.” Zelda translates in breathy fear. Link signs something more. “Black moblins.” The Princess amends. “Many of them.”

So that's how it works, Revali thinks to himself, and makes a mental note to think more on it later. For now, “Where?”

Link points ahead, along the path just before it curves left around a rocky outcrop, their line of sight quite conveniently obscured.

“That way,” Zelda supplies rather unhelpfully, but he imagines it’s the most helpful she can feel.

“Allow me, please.” Revali dismounts, hoping the horse doesn’t start fussing too loudly. In the silence now he can hear the tell tale snuffling of the pig-nosed monsters, their heavy breathing and the scraping of spiked clubs across the ground. He curses himself silently, can’t help but feel that he has somehow been bested by Link in some competition. He takes to the air, lowly at first, and backtracks into a nearby patch of pine trees. He deems the foliage thick enough for cover and slowly rises on the wind until he can silently climb the last few branches to the top of the tallest tree. From here he can see the Moblins. The tops of their heads, at least. Black, how on Earth could Link have known that, and Revali clicks his beak. There are only three, nothing a few well-placed arrows can’t take care of.

Unsurprisingly, that is when things go to Calamity in a hand weaved, feather threaded Rito hand basket.

It starts with Zelda, crying out in surprise. Revali wonders if Link would be screaming if he were able. His head snaps in the direction of where he left the pair, and Silver Bokoblins have descended on them. Revali screeches, not in a Hylian way, but in the time honored battle cry of his people. Without hesitation, he goes for the bow and arrows at his back and launches himself from the canopy. Revali cuts through the sky with deadly efficiency, streamlining towards Link and Zelda. He fires off six shots in rapid succession before he has to take to the air again. One is a headshot, but the others are merely flesh wounds that barely slow them down as Silver and Black Bokoblins flood the hills like beetles.

Zelda and Link have abandoned their horses and all three gallop for the hills where they can still be summoned by whistle noise. Better they’re off safe than risk kicking Link or Zelda in the back of the head in fear.

Link has sprung into action and Revali would take a minute to admire the sheer skill he displays if he weren’t dodging Bokoblin arrows left and right. He soars again to a safer height and nocks an arrow as he plummets to the ground. Fires off three more shots before swooping and repeating the action.

Link holds his own with the Master Sword; Two or three hits kills most of the Bokoblins. He and Zelda are back to back, and to her credit she holds her own with a Gerudo Scimitar. Although of the two she is clearly the weaker fighter, and the Bokoblins quickly figure that out. Link is suddenly fighting enemies on all sides, while trying to pick off the overwhelming numbers targeting the Princess. Revali curses again, it’s becoming a habit he finds, and returns his bow to its holster. He goes for the Feathered Edge at his side, and starts making repeated sweeps, diving from above and making deadly slashes against distracted Bokoblins before returning to the sky to repeat it again. Between the three of them the Bokoblin’s numbers slowly thin, but the three Moblins on the other hand are making their way to the group, all armed and dangerous.

Revali doesn’t know how he knows, but something makes him look to Link in that moment, as the three Moblins are charging them. Link’s face isn’t frantic, even in the face of imminent danger, and he motions clearly to the Princess, whose back is to him as she stares down the approaching Moblins with fierce and pointed determination.

If only battles were won by sheer will alone.

Link indicates Zelda and an upward motion. Revali doesn’t question it, just thinks for a moment that he’s meant for greater things than swoop and saves. But he does it nonetheless, and grabs Zelda around the middle. She squawks, angry and awkward, but they’re already on the ascent before she realizes what's happening.

“Link!” She’s screeching. “What about Link?”

“Get on my back!” Revali yells, trying to keep his balance with the extra, wiggling weight moving to his back. “Use my bow!”

Good Goddess, it hurts his soul to say. His sweet Great Eagle Bow is crying out in indignation as Zelda takes it between her inexperienced fingers and shakily nocks an arrow. Revali wonders if she’s ever fired an arrow from horseback, much less a flying Rito, and makes a note of watching where the arrows land to scavenge them later.

Thank the Goddess, Zelda is not as bad as he would have expected. She fires with certainty, and although there are no headshots her arrows fly true enough, causing flesh wounds and distracting a few of the Moblins as Link takes them on from the ground. Revali tells himself that he’s keeping an eye on the Moblins to get Zelda better vantage points from his back, but his eyes are largely fixed on Link. He jumps, he rolls, he fights like he’s dancing, finding weak points in the Moblin’s defense with his precious darkness-sealing sword. All three are armed with spiked clubs, and Link is sure to keep close to their feet to avoid being swept while dodging kicks from all sides.

He’s gorgeous, Revali thinks. Not even grudgingly, which is shocking and something Revali will have to revisit at a less life threatening time. But he is. Link sweeps across the battlefield with the mastery Revali claims to have over the sky. And perhaps Revali feels something strange in his chest, something resembling respect, which is shockingly unfamiliar.

Another thing to consider at a later time. The list piles up. How troublesome.

Between Link, Revali, and Zelda (and let’s be honest Revali’s bow), they make quick but careful work of the Moblins. When all is said and done Revali slowly descends, bringing Zelda back to the steady ground where she wobbles on her feet. Link is already picking through what’s been dropped by their enemies.

Zelda, who has opted to take a seat on the ground rather than fall in a shaky pile, has a look on her face. Like she’s warring between throwing a fit, most likely about being plucked from the battlefield for her own safety at the cost of Link’s. But it would appear that another part of her understands.

Revali shakes his head and walks over to Zelda, laying a light hand on her shoulder. He does not try to pull her up before she’s ready. “Have you seen many fights?”

Zelda shakes her head. Her eyes are on Link, who bleeds slowly from a gash on his upper arm, the side from which Zelda had been taking assault. He’s kicking at the bodies of the Moblins, waiting for them to turn to ash as expected before he picks through what’s left. He’s actually bleeding in several places, the only one to have taken wounds, it seems.

When all is said and done Revali and Link have quite a collection of Moblin and Bokoblin parts, and Zelda has found her legs and the horses again. The sun is starting to set, and although they hadn’t reached the estimated distance for the day, they decide to make camp for the night. The campfire is quiet as Zelda cleans Link's scrapes and cuts, taking care to bandage the deeper wounds. She is tightlipped, perhaps rightfully angry at his reckless behavior, perhaps wrongfully.

Finally, “There. I’m not Mipha,” She says with perhaps a hint of bitterness, “But hopefully this will do.” She gently pats just below the bandages on Link's upper arm, the nastiest of the cuts. Longing to do more, Revali knows that tone of voice.

Link shakes his head, clenches his fists and raises his arms to flex. Good as new, Revali thinks to himself as he tosses a nearby branch into the fire. Zelda smiles at Link's enthusiasm. Revali has felt the warm touch of Mipha’s healing, and knows that there is no bandages or salve comparable. Surely, Zelda knows this as well.

“You’re too kind,” Zelda says quietly before stifling a large yawn. “We should sleep if we hope to make up the distance tomorrow.”

“You two sleep,” Revali is shocked to hear himself say. “I’ll take first watch.” Why would I do that, he wonders. His wings ache from having to carry another person at such speeds and heights. He deserves rest like the rest of them. 

Link grunts, catching Revali’s attention. He puts a flat hand to his lips, and moves the hand forward and down in Revali’s direction. As if he’d blown him a kiss.

"He says thank you,” Zelda’s voice drifts from over the fire, but Revali doesn’t turn to her. His eyes are, finally, fixed on Link’s hands as he continues to sign. “For helping us in battle.” A pause as Link stops, thinking about how to sign the next bit. “And that you’re an amazing marksman. He envies your skill with a bow.”

“Well,” Revali finds himself speechless, shockingly. Perhaps for the first time in his life. A hundred things run through his head at once; What would you expect, I am the Champion of Rito, my skills are unmatched. He thinks about repeating his speech from their first encounter. But instead, he says, “Thank you. You’re, uh,” Another pause. “You’re quite good yourself.”

Revali and Link hold eyes for a moment, and Revali is glad that the warmth in his cheeks that feels suspiciously like a blush is hidden beneath his feathers. Link, however, has no such luxury, and Revali watches with confused satisfaction as pink slowly creeps across those perfect, high cheeks. The longer he and Link hold eye contact, the redder his face gets until Link is forced to look away at the fire. Link scrubs at his face, the redness in his cheeks. 

Light bouncing off the fire, of course. Nothing more.

“Link doesn’t speak.” Zelda says, and Revali finally forces his gaze from the boy in question to turn to her. “He is mute.”

Revali nods carefully, trying not to give away too much in his reaction. Out of the corner of his excellent peripheral vision, he sees Link fiddling with the hilt of his blade, hiding his face beneath his soft, golden hair.

Soft and golden, really Revali?

“I see,” Revali offers instead, because what else is there to say? He’d seen the hand signals before, among elders and travelers to and from Rito Village in his childhood. They were a thing of the past, he’d thought. “Flightless _and_ mute. A wonder how the sword made such a poor choice.”

It’s out before Revali can stop himself. To Link’s credit he takes the insult in stride, simply shrugging. His eyes are clear and lips set in a neutral line. Revali feels shame bloom in his chest, despite his best efforts to squash it. It was an entirely valid thought, in his honest opinion. However it does nothing to stop the rock from sinking further into his gut when Link makes no effort to defend himself. Why had he done that?

“Would you like to learn?” Zelda offers, apropos of nothing, and Revali is so caught off guard he can’t think of anything to say. “It’s fairly simple, and Urbosa claims it passes the time during travels wonderfully.”

Revali looks to Link, who’s acting like he isn’t hearing this, and back to Zelda. “I don’t know, what with my longer, feathered hands.” He points out, certain that he’s found a foolproof way out. It’s a valid point; Rito hands are quite different from that of a Hylian’s, the original creators of the language.

“Oh?” Zelda tilts her head and smiles, but with none of the sparkle and charm of the last few days. “Are you conceding to something that Link can do and you cannot?”

Revali makes a face at the Princess that would surely cost him his head were they already at Hyrule Castle. Zelda takes it all in unsettling stride. “Excellent. We’ll start with something simple. This one.” She raises her right hand to her chest, makes something of a fist, and then a clockwise circle. “Means _I’m sorry_.”       

* * *

Zelda succeeds in teaching Revali a few more signs, simple greetings and farewells, before she begins to drift to sleep. Link had lain down long ago on his back, his fingers laced over his chest and deathly still. Eventually, Zelda curls up on her own sleeping mat, and the soft sounds of her breathing fill their small camp. Revali lets the fire die to a dull glow – it’s a warm night after all – before searching the perimeter of their small camp for appropriately sized twigs to toss into the flames.   

He almost dies of an undignified heart attack when he turns back to see Link sitting up, holding out his hands near the flames. Revali has a mind to flap his wings, blow some embers into Link’s waiting arms, but ultimately decides against it on account of his earlier behavior. Link looks up at him, considers him with a neutral expression that is neither dismissive nor friendly, before returning his gaze to the fire. Revali returns to his seat.

After a few minutes pass, and Link is clearly not going back to bed, Revali finally asks. “Not tired?”

Link shakes his head. After another moment he shrugs, nods, then huffs out a bit of air. Revali regrets everything immediately. “I’m so tired,” He continues, “I could sleep for the next year.”

Link laughs a bit at that, and it’s the loudest thing Revali’s ever heard him do. A small part of him wants to keep hearing it. Louder, happier…

His thoughts are interrupted when Link shifts, scooting closer to Revali. He reaches out, holding up both palms as if asking for something. When Revali merely raises an eyebrow, Link reaches out and takes one of his hands. Cautiously, Revali watches as Link holds his hand, palm up, and traces something with a thin finger.

“One…zero…zero…” Revali says quietly for confirmation. “You could sleep for a hundred years?” Link nods and returns Revali’s hand. “Heck, I could go for some of that too, maybe.”

Link nods again, making a tired face. A long-suffering job, he must have. For a while they sit, content with this interaction. Revali actually waits for Link to say something, momentarily forgetting that he can’t, even if he wanted to, before he decides to take another turn. “So, you speak like that? With your hands?”

Link nods, and a hundred different questions are dancing at the tip of his tongue, fighting one another for answers. Why? Since birth? Did something happen? Who taught you? Have you ever tried to speak? Do you wish you could?

Instead, to his credit, Revali nods and decides to change the subject. “How did you know about the Moblins? That was good.” He hopes it comes across as less of another insult and more like the peace offering he meant it to be.

Link smiles at that, and reaches backwards to pat the hilt of the Master Sword where it lays next to his bedroll but within arms reach. Link nods and taps the hilt once more before tapping his throat and then his own ear.

“The sword… It speaks?” Revali cocks his head, sure he’s got it wrong. “And you can hear it?”

Another vigorous nod, and then an uncomfortable silence as Revali stares at Link.

“That’s absolutely bonkers.” Revali says matter-of-factly, all initial intentions of good will forgotten. “You’re scrambled in the brain.”

Revali is rewarded with another laugh from Link, louder and happier as he had wished. He tries to cling to the sound with his superior ears, tries to extrapolate what Link’s speaking voice might sound like from the lightness of his laugh.

He imagines it sounds warm and golden.

“Suppose I’m going a bit bonkers myself,” Revali grumbles to himself, shaking his head as if it could dispel the unwelcome thoughts of Link’s voice, what it would sound like as a breathy whisper or an angry shout.

Link shrugs. _Maybe_.

More silence passes between the two Champions, and Revali is thankful for it. This comfortable silence with Link. Eventually the Hylian lets out a yawn.

“Sleep.” Revali tells him. “I’ll wake you in a few hours.”

Link nods, his eyes already looking heavy as he crawls from Revali’s side – he hadn’t noticed Link had never returned to his own space from earlier – and curls up on his mat, quickly falling into a genuine sleep on his side.

It occurs to Revali, as he watches Zelda and Link rest, that a great many things about Link have fallen into place. He does not bother to list or name everything, and ignores the thoughts that he swore to return to from earlier.

Instead he stays awake, thinking of nothing, and lets Link sleep through the night.


	3. Chapter 3

The other Champions are exactly as Revali remembers them. They've met once or twice before officially, when they were all gifted their Divine Beasts. Mipha is reserved, quiet. She wastes no time taking Link into her careful hands, sending warm, healing power over his skin. She does it with minimal touch and worry, probably so not to upset Zelda, who pointedly looks away the moment her hands are on Link. Urbosa and Daruk had met them just before Hyrule Castle. The Lady herself is as beautiful and strong as ever, and Daruk as jolly and prone to backslapping as he was when they first met years ago. Urbosa is Revali's oldest friend among the Champions due to their domains being the closest, and travel between the two is common. He is glad to find her in good health. He relays this all in his letter to the Elder later that night, pointedly leaving out what he suspects were inklings of jealousy over how easily Link and the other Champions got along.

No point in regretting a wall he built himself, anyhow.

Each Champion gets their own room in Hyrule Castle to use whenever they visit. Urbosa, Daruk, and Mipha go to theirs immediately, tired from their travels like the others. Zelda happily obliges to show them the way, which Revali thinks might have something to do with the King, skulking unhappily in the background in a very un-kingly manner. The other Champions are more than happy to help Zelda avoid her father by attending to her Princess-ly duties of escorting the royal guests to their quarters. Revali hangs back, unwilling to face the chit chat of the other Champions just yet.

It leaves him with Link, who apparently deemed the Princess safe enough with the other three Champions. “So, uh,” Revali starts.

Link turns to him with those big blue eyes.

“Darn, uh.” Revali looks down at his long fingers, the ones that nock arrows and slash Moblin throats, and finds them frustratingly inadequate in this moment. He’s halfway through trying to sloppily sign _my room_ , when Link snorts. The Hylian points down one of the many identical hallways before he starts walking, obviously meaning for Revali to follow.

He does so grudgingly. He can’t make head or tail of those damn signs.

This is Revali’s first time entering this part of Hyrule Castle, as Link leads him past winding tunnels and guards armed to the teeth. Many of them give Revali and Link a respectful head nod as they pass through stone corridors and turning countless corners. Finally, after Revali thinks Link might just be leading him in circles for the fun of it, they arrive at a heavy oaken door. A maid waits nearby, and passes a brass key to Link before leaving. In turn, Link gives the key to Revali, who takes a moment to appreciate its weight in his hand before putting it to the lock.

The room inside is minimally decorated. A hammock, as customary for his people, some furniture, but mostly empty space for Revali to furnish as he sees fit. A bow stand is mounted next to the hammock, but what catches Revali’s eye is the large floor to ceiling window that stands at the opposite end of the room. “Adequate.” Revali comments, taking a few steps into the room before setting down his pack. “Good view.” He says again to Link, who he assumes has been standing around waiting for approval.

Link coughs and Revali turns to him. The Hylian reaches out a hand, and mimes the action of turning something, and then pushing it out. “A door?” Revali guesses, to which Link nods and points to the window again.

Upon further inspection Revali sees that the large window, made of surprisingly thick glass, is also a door. It takes a fair bit of strength to swing it open, but when he does Revali is met with the cool night air of Hyrule. The window opens a doorway in the room large enough for Revali to stretch his wings, leading to a stone balcony that resembles the many flight decks in Rito Village.

The stones click under his talons as Revali steps out fully onto the ledge, feeling the air on and around his feathers. He notes the stone of the ledge is a different color than the rest of the castle walls, cleaner and less weathered by time. “Did,” Revali turns to Link, who still stands patiently in the doorway to the room. “Did the Princess have this made for me?”

Link offers him a nod, but Revali’s sharp eyes catch a moment’s hesitation. “Did you?” He asks again, hoping he doesn’t come off as silly should he be wrong.

Link does not answer, but brings up a hand to make a simple sign. _Like?_

Revali smiles, genuinely smiles, and repeats the motion back to him, although his is much sloppier and perhaps the fingers are wrong. _Like_.

Link seems satisfied with this, signs _good night_ , which Revali is proud of himself for recognizing, and leaves without another word, gently shutting the door behind him.

Revali can’t bother himself to unpack, instead leaving his pack where it was, hanging his bow, and immediately going to the hammock so thoughtfully provided. He leaves the window open, thankful for the breeze and the sound of moving wind that lulls his thoughts. As he feels himself drifting off to sleep, he looks down at his hand and tries to remember how Link had held his fingers exactly.

_Like._

* * *

Revali sleeps late the next morning, missing his first sunrise in many months, which he considers a personal failing. But when he is finally awake enough to move around his room, he finds his body thankful for the extra rest. A bowl of apples are waiting on his table, and he eats two in rapid succession before taking a third to the window. He nibbles at this one slowly, satisfied with the tart flavor and crisp body. Judging from the sun it must be just after seven in the morning, and with the early morning light Revali can fully appreciate the view from his ledge.

Beneath his ledge Revali can clearly see the training grounds below, where the early hours finds platoons of soldiers performing morning drills and exercises. Revali considers them while nibbling his apple. They’re not bad, but it would be a stretch so say they’re the best.

Eventually, the sharp sound of an arrow piercing the air catches Revali’s attention. Removed from the rest of the men, a single Hylian soldier is standing in an archery range, nocking and loosing arrows with efficiency, although the accuracy is only slightly lacking. Revali knows immediately from the bright blue Champion’s tunic. With a few more quick bites, Revali polishes off the rest of the apple, tossing the core somewhere to the ground below. He takes a moment to steady himself, spreads his wings to feel the satisfying stretch of his muscles, and with one swoop downward, he’s off.

Hyrule has beautiful skies, Revali will admit that. Nothing like the crisp air of Rito, but the gentle humidity and morning dew are a welcome change. Revali flies high enough to circle Link once, twice, before he finally streamlines, rocketing to the ground.

Link might see his shadow approaching, but he can’t help but be knocked off balance onto his butt by the sheer force of the wind Revali brings with him. By the time Link is standing again, Revali makes a point to be preening his perfectly folded feathers.

As always Link appears nonplussed, and signs _Good morning_ , using one arm as a horizon and the other mimicing a rising sun.

“Yes, a fine morning by Hylian standards, I’m sure.” Revali crosses his arms. “However, it pales in comparison to the view from the Roost above Rito Village. The sunrise and sunset over the Heba mountains are unparalleled.”

Link nods at that, looking enthusiastic as opposed to put out. He raises his hands, and Revali gives the slow signs his attention, determined to get them right the first time. “See… like? Yes? Like to see?” Another enthusiastic nod. “You’d like to see it? Best of luck, it’s near impossible to reach the top of the Roost without wings.”

Without missing a beat, Link starts signing again. When Revali can only shake his head at the movements, he eventually abandons the signing to point to him, and mime the action of flying. “Me? Fly? You want me to fly you up there?”

Perhaps it’s Revali’s incredulous tone, but Link seems almost embarrassed by the request, scratching the back of his head as soft pink colors make their way across his cheeks. Revali immediately feels guilty, the Hylian would have had no way of knowing that watching the sunrise from the roost at the top of the village was considered an intensely intimate and romantic activity among the villagers.

Embarrassed, yes, but Revali finds that the idea does not fill him with unease as it did when any of the number of hens in the village invited him to. He finds himself speaking again before he can think, “I - yes. I suppose I could be bothered. Should our travels ever return us to Rito Village together.”

Link brightens at that, warmer and more golden than the sun. Revali adds the phrase “warm and golden” to the list of things to brood about the next time he found a solitary minute. For now, “Nock an arrow, oh Hero. I will fix what you are doing wrong with your bow.”

Revali’s Hero – pardon, Hyrule’s Hero – nods with an enthusiastic smile, raising his bow and arrow at the target across the field. Open to criticism, Revali thinks as he eyes Link’s stance and the way he looses the arrow to fly and miss the eye of the target by mere inches. An admirable trait.

“Passable,” Revali says as if it’s a compliment. “You, however, take too long to aim. Perhaps instinctive archery is beyond the capabilities of a Hylian, but with your shooting the target will have long moved its head by the time you fire.” Link cocks his head to the side, looking displeased, though there are too many possibilities for Revali to guess why. “It is not your fault,” Revali is surprised to find himself saying, yet again. Nasty habit, this. “Instinctive shooting was designed specifically for recurve bows, not common in Hyrule I’ve found.”

Link nods at that. Archery is considered a secondary weapon among Hylians more often than not. But it does not stop the pout that graces Link’s lips, another glimpse at the rare showing of emotion that Revali finds himself growingly privy to.

He recognizes the feeling of warmth that the pout puts in his stomach, but refuses to name or acknowledge it beyond that. Instead he distracts himself, saying “Perhaps, if we could find a recurve bow, you might be teachable. I’ve found that the instinct is transferrable to other styles.”

The smile he receives in turn does not at all help the warmth in his belly. For once, Revali prays that he has been afflicted with fever. “Consider yourself lucky, I often find teaching below my abilities.”

Link thanks him using his sign, which still strikes Revali as more of a kiss blowing motion than he is comfortable with, but does his best to ignore it. The thanks are quickly followed by several more signs.

“What? Wait, slow down!” Revali clicks his beak sharply and Link has the gall to look bashful. He starts again from the beginning, his fingers much slower now.

“You… Me? Me. Can… fly? Yes, I can fly. Observation skills fitting of a hero indeed.” Link huffs, and Revali reminds himself that he means to be nicer to Link, he really does. “Alright, let me try again… Me… show? Show you? Flying?”

Link, for the first time that Revali’s known him, seems to be growing impatient, something that he revels in. He can’t help but tease, “What would you like me to show you, hmm? My _wingspan_?” He can’t help but curl his tongue around the term, giving it a salacious meaning that sets Link’s cheeks on fire.

Not such an idiot after all.

Link grimaces and goes back to thinking how best to get his message across. Apparently, the fact that Revali is teasing him on purpose went over his short Hylian head. Finding Link’s frustration far too cute, he finally offers, “You want me to show you Revali’s Gale?”

An enthusiastic nod, again. The boy seems to be full of them. He’s lucky they’re rather endearing.

It takes a split second for Revali to widen his stance, bend his knees just a bit, and before Link realizes what’s happening, he’s summoned the winds to his call. With one powerful downward thrust of his full wingspan, Revali goes soaring into the air as if he were launched.

To his absolute and entirely unintentional joy, the gust of wind picks Link up off his short Hylian legs and raises him in the air one or two feet before tossing him ass over head back onto the ground, just in time for the Hero to crane his neck to watch Revali’s ascent. Revali finally sees it, from up there in the sky. A full-blown, no holds barred smile. He’d thought Link incapable of such a thing, but he sees it clear as day.

And it’s yet another thing about the boy that strikes him, warm and golden.

When Revali returns to the ground, after one or two lazy circles in the air, Link is beaming like a child, in much the same way the fledglings of the village do when he displays this carefully mastered skill for them. Link is practically shaking with excitement at this, clearly unharmed from being tossed like a fresh Zora salad.

“Impressive, yes?” Revali examines his wing feathers in a practiced exercise of cool nonchalance. “Everything you expected? Perhaps even more?”

Link begins signing something, fast and sloppy in his excitement. And because Revali cannot resist teasing someone like Link, he takes off in yet another burst of wind and pure force, taking the great Hero with him a few feet into the air.

After two or three more times of doing it whenever he caught Link unawares, the Hylian starts pretending to be annoyed.


	4. Chapter 4

* * *

“You were flirting.” Urbosa says later that day, matter-of-factly and much too loudly for Revali’s good graces. “Rather shamelessly, at that.”

“Good Goddess woman!” Revali hisses, feeling his feathers ruffle in indignation. “Lower your voice, are you mad!” He chances a sneak peek at the other Champions, one of whom is in love with the Hylian in question, and the other who cannot keep his mouth shut for any reason other than chewing. Luckily, Mipha and Daruk, as well as Link, are absorbed in whatever Zelda is showing them. They’ve gathered for the afternoon in Zelda’s study, in a tower a bit removed from the castle, where her findings on Sheikah technology are proudly but messily displayed. She’s saying something about the slate she keeps at her hip and the guardians that now roam the castle grounds. Personally, Revali finds their laser eyes unsettling.

“No one need hear me say it to know.” Urbosa says, but lowers her voice anyway. Revali hopes they're far enough removed from the group for it to matter. “The way you were pulling him into the air. I’ll bet he’s wondering in what other ways those strong wings of yours can toss him about.” Revali’s cheeks grow so warm that he worries about setting his own face feathers on fire.

“Must everything you say be so vulgar?”

“All I’m saying.” Urbosa begins carefully, a mischievous smile teasing at the corner of her lips. “Is that Gerudo women often woo other women by displaying their strength. I know preening, or whatever the Rito call it, when I see it.”

“I was illustrating a simple superiority.” Revali grinds out. “Nothing more.”

Urbosa hums thoughtfully to himself. “Did you mention to him that your _wingspan_ is three to four inches superior than the average Rito?”

Revali lets out the smallest of indignant squawks at that. “You have no idea what you’re talking about. I was not _flirting_. If anything I was establishing dominance.”

Urbosa grins like she’s lured him into some kind of cleverly made trap. “Where I come from we wrestle for such.”

Revali throws his hands up in the air and luckily Zelda chooses that moment to address the entire group. It does not, however, stop Revali from being entirely too aware of Urbosa, smirking at him.

“Now, while I’ve been able to unlock the Sheikah Slate’s many runes with the help of Director Purah, we simply cannot access its travel capabilities.”

“Travel?” Urbosa chimes in, as if she has been listening the whole time, the blasted woman. “That sounds like a helpful tool to have. Could it take you just anywhere in the world?”

Zelda turns the slate over in her hands a few times before placing it gently on the desk with a sigh. “We believe that it is connected directly to the map within the slate. It seems to catalogue specific locations, perhaps of the shrines we’ve found across Hyrule. However, as the shrines lay dormant so does the map. Perhaps there is a way to activate the ability to travel, but without the shrines to pinpoint as a destination, we worry that it might choose destinations at will.”

Daruk lifts one giant arm, bumping against a nearby shelf full of Zelda’s clutter as he goes to scratch his head. “Well that sure isn’t helpful. Picking people up and dropping them at random.”

Revali and Urbosa seem to read each other’s minds and he immediately meets her playful smirk with a narrow eyed glare.

“Perhaps some powers are best left slumbering.” Mipha says quietly.

“Agreed,” Zelda admits with another sigh. She reaches down, however, to take the slate and hang it from the belt at her hip again. “But it is constantly surprising us. So I shall be bringing it with me on our journey to the Spring of Wisdom. Hopefully we can activate something there. Fa- King Rhoam has bid us leave at first light on the morrow.”

Revali wants to groan at that, but considers the action below him. They had only just gotten settled, certainly the spring wasn’t going anywhere fast.

“If I might.” Daruk interjects. “Let us take Rudania. She is nearby, and can cut the trip into less than half the time.”

Zelda nods. “I see no reason not to. What do the rest of you think?” She gestures to the fellow Champions. And although Revali sees no logical reason to ask Link, he is still slightly offended on his behalf.

“If that were possible, I would like to return to Zora’s Domain afterwards, should nothing more arise.” Mipha says in her same gentle voice. “I have rather pressing matters to attend to in the Domain.”

“I as well, to be honest.” Daruk says, more so yells. “My wife tells me that our son will come any week now!”

“Daruk, that is marvelous news!”

Congratulations circulate the room, of which Revali gives his fair share. It is henceforth decided that the Champions will ride out on Rudania. It cuts the trip from a week into a few days tops, after which Mipha and Daruk will be free to return to their domains for their pressing matters. Each with their own preparations to make, the Champions part ways after the meeting. Revali refuses to admit that he is disappointed to see Link rush out after Zelda rather than take to the practice field, where the two might speak again.

“You know.” Urbosa says, who easily falls into line with Revali, matching the hurried stride he took to leave the room to escape exactly this scenario. “I think I happen to know what Mipha’s pressing matters are.”

“Lady Urbosa, a common gossip?” Revali does his best to sound devastated. “For shame, my lady, for shame.”

“It is not gossip if it has directly to do with the person I am telling it to.”

Well, if anything can get Revali’s attention, it’s himself. “Speak.”

Urbosa ignores what Revali pretends was a command. “She is hurrying home to begin preparations for the making of a very special set of armor.”

“Urbosa, the linen related happenings of my fellow Champions are hardly _pressing_. Nor do they have anything to do with me.”

Urbosa make a sound somewhere in between a grunt and a growl, as her people are wont to do when making threats or feeling frustrated. Or hungry. Or even sad. An expressive people, they are. “The armor is for Link, you fool. I saw her not two hours ago, taking his measurements.”

Revali bristles at that, because that means the reason Link had to leave their friendly archery lesson on the practice field this morning was Mipha. “Again, Urbosa, things that do not concern me.”

“They do if it means that Mipha intends to propose marriage.”

Many thoughts fight for precedence in Revali’s head. First, he looks in all directions, satisfied to find Urbosa and himself far removed from other passerby in the castle with not a Champion in sight. “It is no surprise, any fool with one eye knows she is in love with him.”

“Yes.” Urbosa nods sagely. “But there is love and then there is marriage.”

“Well, you think she will ask?” Revali insists to himself that he is not in the least bit jealous or inexplicably annoyed, simply curious. He does not bother fighting Urbosa on it. “And when?”

“I assume she will be travelling home to ask her father’s blessing first. But it is well known that King Dorephan adores the boy. So does the babe, young Prince Sidon. Only seven, and he claims to want Link's hand in marriage for himself." She adds with a laugh.

Revali shrugs. Zora’s Domain is far more lax when it comes to social status and lineage. Link could never be a King here in Hyrule. But the boy did not simply operate based on best deals. “That is if Mipha can pry him from Zelda’s side, first.”

“When the war is over and Calamity Ganon sealed, Link will be free of his oaths.” Urbosa says, with such certainty that Revali would not be surprised if this has been discussed between herself and Zelda previously. “Zelda would be well within her right to release him from her service.”

"You think she would let him go, just like that?”

Urbosa says immediately, “Yes. If Link wished it, he would have it.”

Revali turns this over in his head and is surprised to find himself walking outside with Urbosa now. He’d not realized they’d traveled so far as to the castle courtyard. “Seems silly, to make a whole set of armor even before proposing.” He wonders aloud.

“Link may be lovable, but he is a blind fool sometimes.” Urbosa says fondly. “One would think that nothing less than a sweeping gesture might catch his attention.”

“Well, this all very interesting. But why are you telling me all this, Urbosa?”

The Lady shrugs, but her painted blue lips are drawn into a slight smile. “I am more than a pretty face and large biceps, you know. You seemed particularly inclined to sweeping him off his feet this morning. I thought you might appreciate the opportunity to do it seriously.”

Revali doesn’t bristle at that. His feathers do not rise, nor does his temper at such a suggestion. Instead, he admires their surroundings, eyeing the gardens just in the distance of the courtyard. “Have you ever been in love, Lady Urbosa?”

“I am always in love.” She says smoothly and without pause. “With my people and the desert. With my friends.

“How do you know it?” Revali asks, deep down feeling a bit silly for having to. He’s loved before – the Elder who raised him, the few friends he had growing up, and the Champions he finds himself surrounded by now.

Urbosa takes a moment to think on this, tapping her blue lips with a blue fingernail. Finally she says, “To imagine a life without them would be to imagine a life less joyful or warm.”

The two Champions stand, somehow apart from the noisy comings and goings of Hyrule Castle around them. To Link, who watches them from the window of the tallest tower, where Zelda argues with her father on the other side of a closed door, the moment looks intimate.

“Nay.” Revali says, breaking the eventual silence. As if time starts moving again their surroundings grow loud and Daruk is calling to them from across the courtyard. “It would sadden me to see the boy die, but a life without him is no more, no less.”

Lady Urbosa barks out a laugh quite unfitting of her title. Her whole body shakes, rattling her golden jewelry as she tosses her head back. Several passing servants stop for a moment to stare before hurrying along in fear of being caught.

When Daruk finally approaches his fellow Champions he insists on being told the joke. When he is denied, he pouts like a child until Revali offers him his share of pastries from the castle kitchens.


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope my descriptions of sign language are adequate. I don't know it myself, although I've always wanted to learn!

Revali does not see Link again until they are aboard Rudania, making quick time in their travels to the base of Mount Lanayru. The first few steps could be described as shaky at best, and Revali nearly vomits to his horrific embarrassment. So unlike the smooth, sleek movements of Medoh. Daruk agrees, to the relief of all aboard, that he will not flip Rudania on its side for the rest of the trip. Although he considers it a personal assault on his character.

Revali’s knowledge of signs makes leaps and bounds during the trip. He was not surprised that Mipha was already fluent, perhaps even better at it than Zelda, her fingers dainty and every motion perfect. Urbosa is rusty but passable in conversational terms. Daruk is hopeless with his larger fingers, but showed promise in understanding the signs when he first started learning months ago. Although he cannot sign himself, Daruk easily holds conversation with Link- on one end hands and on the other loud, loud words.

Revali refuses to admit that his fellow Champion’s easy ability to communicate with Link is what motivates him to dedicate all his spare time on Rudania to memorizing new signs from Zelda and Urbosa. This Divine Beast is much too shaky for letter writing anyhow. The six have gathered on one of Rudania’s many ledges, enjoying the passing scenery as the sun slowly sets.

“Try this one.” Zelda supplies helpfully. She raises both hands, palms down and fingers out, slowly dropping them.

“Rain.” Revali says with a wave of his hand. “Too obvious.”

“You’re becoming quite good.” Mipha observes, and is met with several nods.

“Of course I’m good,” Revali nods to himself. “I’ve yet to find something I’m not good at it.”

“Such modesty.” Urbosa says with a casual eye roll. “Can your powers abound perhaps do something about this weather?” She reaches an arm out, draping it over Zelda’s shoulder and dragging the smaller woman to her side. “You’re shivering.” She comments quietly to the Princess.

“Yes, we must be getting close to Mount Lanayru. I feel it as well.” Mipha comments and stands from her seated position in the circle. “If you all don’t mind, I must excuse myself inside.”

“Agreed.” Urbosa says, rising with Zelda still in her arms to follow Mipha inside, away from the biting wind. “Daruk!” She called over her shoulder. “Come inside and make sure this thing isn’t headed for the sea, would you?”

“Ah, such little faith in this here Goron…” Daruk laments quietly as he climbs to his feet. Huffing, he follows the women inside, leaving Revali and Link on the deck of Rudania.

Revali taps his finger on the cold stone to get Link’s attention. When those impossibly blue eyes are on him he signs, _C_ _old?_

Link flashes another genuine smile, and it’s a breath of fresh air to Revali. He signs back, slowly and carefully. _Not yet. You?_

 _No._ A pause while Revali tries to recall; _Wind. Good feeling._

Link laughs at the broken words that Revali hopes he managed to string into a coherent thought. “So, tomorrow.” He abandons signs, as he means for this conversation to reach its end sometime before they both die of old age. “Shall we accompany you to the Spring of Wisdom?”

Link shakes his head. _No. Here, wait. Me and Z._

“Z?” Revali asks. “Do you refer to all of us by letters?” Revali counts them off in his head, just to be sure. Z, M, R, U, D. “Suppose it saves time.” He muses, looking up at Link just in time to see the faint beginning of a blush.

Revali doesn’t know how he ever considered Link expressionless. Just about everything the boy feels is shown on his face, most often in the form of pink cheeks.

“What?” He says, scooting closer to Link who appears to be doing his best impression of an octorok with the floor. Again, he finds himself unable to resist teasing him, taking ahold of Link’s elbow to drag him closer to where Revali is sitting. He is surprised by the thinness of the arms that wield the Master Sword, but ignores that in favor of chasing Link’s pink face, which he tries to hide by staring directly down.

Octorok indeed.

“Do you have a pet name for someone?” He pries, and Link makes a miserable sounding groan. On the mark, as always. Revali mentally pats himself on the back. “Well, who is it?”

Link shakes his head, trying to reclaim his arm with jerking spasms. “Come on.” Revali tries again. “Don’t make me ask Daruk.”

The threat seems to work, because Link finally stops trying to sink into the floor, and instead makes a half assed attempt at a sign. Revali releases his other arm, and without looking, Link points an ashamed finger at Revali.

“Me? You have a name for me?”

Link nods, still staring at the ground. He sneaks a peek up at Revali from under his bangs – the boy could use a trim - and is biting his lip in what Revali thinks he recognizes as fear.

“To think, you had the gall to give the Champion of Rito a _pet name_ ,” Revali growls, feigning insult just to watch Link curl up further. He’s a cruel bird, he knows. “Well, what is it?” Link seems taken aback by that, like he’d been expecting Revali to storm off without ever asking. “Well, you damn well have to show me now.” He asserts.

Painstakingly slow and still avoiding direct eye contact, Link raises both hands to his chest. He crosses them at the wrists, palms facing his heart and fingers outstretched. Limply, he flexes his fingers at the middle knuckles.

 _"Butterfly_?!” Revali can’t believe he has been reduced to _spluttering_ , but no other action seemed appropriate.

Link has the decency to look ashamed when he nods.

“Well,” Revali really must stop spluttering; even he finds it most unbecoming of a Champion. “Well, how in the name of the Goddess did that happen?” Now he knows why Daruk was giggling so hard when Zelda taught him the sign.

Link takes turns signing and giving clues to words Revali doesn’t yet know. _U._ Taps his temple. _Butterfly. Is. Bird._

Revali recognizes bird at least- it was one of the first signs he demanded to be taught. A mockery of his beak, but he’d set that issue aside at the time. “So Urbosa mixed up bird and butterfly, and it just made sense to start calling me Butterfly?”

Link half shrugs, half nods.

“Hardly.” Revali says, rising to his feet and dusting off his tunic. “I am hardly a butterfly! If this is your idea of a joke on my behalf, know that it is dumb, at best!”

Link is immediately on his feet, signing frantically, something along the lines of _sorry_ and _no_ , but Revali will hear- see- none of it, and storms back inside. Wisely, Link chooses not to follow.

* * *

Revali is in yet another huff when he wakes up. He has a headache from the constant jostling of Rudania, and a few hours later the beast comes to a blissful stop. Zelda insists upon taking the rest of the journey on foot, with no one but Link at her side. She says they won't be gone past Twilight, and Urbosa grudgingly laments. Revali does not care to say goodbye. Instead he bids the Princess good luck before soaring into the skies under the pretense of keeping a watchful eye. He makes his way to the highest point of Rudania’s spine before he finally settles for the day.

He stands by the belief that he is most certainly not sulking.

A butterfly. The most delicate of winged creatures.

Revali stays where he is, watching the sun slowly creep to it’s highest in the sky. The color of Link and Zelda’s winter clothing had faded into the mist that crawled across the peaks of the mountain long ago, so now he watches the clouds instead.

One happened to look something like a butterfly, and Revali considers expending the energy necessary to rocket himself skyward and disperse the offending shape with his wings. Luckily, Urbosa arrives before he can be caught doing something so utterly childish.

“Oi! Revali!” She calls as she makes the climb to the top of the spine where Revali has been pointedly not sulking. “What are you doing, sulking up here?”

Blasted desert woman.

“I am not sulking.” Revali tells her as much. “I simply do not find it as funny as the rest of you that Link calls me _butterfly_.”

Urbosa has the decency to try and stifle her laughter. “Really? That is what’s got your feathers ruffled?”

“Yes!” Revali snaps his beak at her, which Urbosa answers with a cocked eyebrow. “And I have you to thank for it, no less!”

A casual shrug. “Then be mad at me, if you must. It does no good to be angry with Link.”

Revali doesn’t admit it out loud, but he’s knows Urbosa is right. Has known since he stormed away from Link in an over dignified huff, regretting it almost immediately. Urbosa seems to sense this and says, “It seems another apology is in order.”

“I’ve started apologizing far too much for my own liking.” Revali mumbles. He does not inquire as to how Urbosa knows why his sign lessons started in the first place. “The words will start to lose meaning.”

Urbosa shrugs at that, and then begins digging for something in the satchel she has slung across her shoulder. “Then perhaps accompanied with a gift.” She pulls a dagger from the bag, of obvious Gerudo creation. The hilt is solid gold, and a deep red ruby is embedded at the very end. The blade itself is of the finest metal, Revali can see. Although short, it is deadly sharp. Urbosa hands it to him, lets him hold and test the weight of it before he passes it back to her to be sheathed and returned to the satchel.

“A present for Zelda.” She explains with fondness in her voice. “It’s her seventeenth birthday today.”

Revali is taken aback by that. “I would have expected a celebration.”

“Celebrating the passing of time is difficult for the Princess, especially when Ganon looms at the end of it.”

Revali can't think of anything appropriate to say to that. “Where are the others?”

“Mipha and Daruk have both taken to writing letters home to tell of their arrival.”

Revali thinks of going down now to write the Elder, but finds that he is unwilling to move from Urbosa’s side in this moment. Something about the warmth of the sun, the crispness of the breeze.

“It must be Link’s birthday as well, then.” Urbosa comments.

“Must be?”

She nods. “His birthday is not of import to the people. But as the Princess’s Knight, he lives as she lives, ages as she does.” Urbosa swings her legs over the edge, gently tapping her foot on the cold stone. “At least, that’s how she described it to me. Link does not know his birthday, so Zelda shares hers. She feels guilty; in all the chaos this is the first year that she forgot to get him a gift.”

“What did he get her?”

“The same gift every year. A bouquet of Silent Princesses in a vase on her windowsill.”

Revali can only wonder at the implications of that. And he does, for a few moments. To share the Princess’s birthday is an honor he cannot match. Not easily, at least.

“Do you suppose those pines are strong wood?” Revali wonder aloud, motioning to a thick copse on the mountainside.

“I suppose so.” Urbosa says thoughtfully. “You’d be the expert, however.”

“I’ve never made a bow for anyone before.” Revali continues. “A thing of such perfection belongs in the hands of the perfect marksman.”

Urbosa nods.

Decided, Revali stands and straightens his tunic. He raises his wings, and with a gentle push lifts himself into the air and over the edge of Rudania, where he picks up enough speed on the way down to catch an updraft, strong enough to bring him towards the mountainside. He’d dare not try to knock Urbosa over with his gale- he likes his down feathers where they are, thank you very much.

Urbosa watches the Rito soar through the skies until he is nothing more than a hazy shape behind the mist, searching for the perfect tree. Such a graceful, stupid man, she thinks to herself before he rises to her feet, cracking her back as she does so. “Suppose I’ll have to bring lunch back up here,” She says to no one in particular and begins the climb back down to Rudania’s belly. “Damn these heels.”


	6. Chapter 6

Revali eventually finds a suitable tree. The best tree, in fact, on all of Mount Lanayru. He makes quick work of the thickest branch with his Feathered Edge, finding it suitable. He clasps it with his talons and takes off back to the beast. He does not know how long he is gone, but by the time he returns to the spine of his choosing, there is bread, a meat skewer, and an apple awaiting him.

“What if the wind had blown it away? Foolish woman.” Revali shakes his head, but reaches for the meat skewer.

A great chunk of time passes quickly in which Revali sets to work on the branch. First chunks then shavings of wood fall over Rudania’s edge as the sun slowly sets, and Revali sees his vision take shape. To him, the bow comes to life rather quickly. It isn't until he’s putting on finishing touches in the shape that he’s snapped out of his focus by the sound of the other Champions arguing. The sun has set, and yet no Link nor Zelda.

“I’m going to look for her.” Revali hears Urbosa say as he descends on the platform just behind Rudania’s head. The same platform Zelda and Link had crawled down from this morning.

“She’s with Link.” Mipha is trying to tell her. “The Princess could not be safer, you know this. Give her time.”

“She’s right.” Daruk adds. “ The Princess would want time. I’m sure she’s on her way now.”

Urbosa makes a face and continues the fight, spouting off something about wolves. Revali agrees they should wait, and is about to say as much when he hears it. He sets down the bow he’d been working on to scan the foot of the mountain, the only areas visible in the blue glow of Rudania. He swore he heard it, something like the crunching of snow….

There. “Urbosa!” He yells before taking a running leap off the ledge, immediately taking flight.

Link is there, just a bit up the hill and slowly making his way into the furthest reach of Rudania’s nlue light. He is slumped and slow moving, his legs sinking into the soft snow with every step. He carries Zelda on his back.

“Link!” Revali cries as he comes to meet them, and the Hero looks up at him. Where his body betrays exhaustion and weakness, Revali is surprised to find steely eyes and a set jaw. “Here, let me,” Revali says, and reaches for the dead weight of the Princess. Link lets her go reluctantly, but with a relieved sigh.

“Zelda!” Urbosa has caught up to them now, and is snatching the Princess from Revali’s arms. She hadn’t even grabbed a cloak, and Revali wonders how she’s managed to run through snow in her heels. “Link! Are you two okay? What’s happened?”

Link signs something with stiff, bloodless fingers.

“Fainted?” Urbosa parrots.

Again, Link grimaces as he forces his hands to obey. _Standing. Water, ice. All day._ He repeats the sign for fainting.

“Thank goodness you’re both all right.” Urbosa says, shifting Zelda in her arms to better carry her. “Let’s get you both to Mipha back inside.”

As Urbosa makes her way through the snow, which looks easy with those impossibly long and strong legs, Revali ponders Link, who doesn’t move. He seems to be gathering what little strength he has left to power his quaking legs. Revali notices that his clothes are wet and frozen, most likely from pulling Zelda from the water. He must have pulled her winter clothes on her before carrying her down.

“Apologies, mate.” Revali says as warning, which doesn’t seem to register with Link. Bowing quickly, Revali grabs the slighter Hylian around his middle, and with one solid push of his legs stands and hoists him over his shoulder.

Link is too tired to even protest. He lets out a general moan but quickly goes still over Revali’s shoulder as he heads for the steps that lead back into Rudania. Once inside, Revali sees Mipha holding her hands over Zelda, whispering quick words to Urbosa. Something about raising her body heat, and Urbosa takes Zelda back in her arms, headed for her personal quarters on Rudania. Mipha watches them go before she allows herself to approach Link, her hands shaking.

“He’s so cold,” Mipha whispers like a lament. Like he’s already dead. And perhaps he’s on his way, because Link chooses that perfect opportunity to let his eyes roll into the back of his head.

Nothing that can't be fixed with a good shake, which Revali proves.

"We need to bring his body temperature back to normal." Mipha informs him, her gentle hands hovering just over Link's pale blue lips as she tries to get a feel for his breathing. 

“Ah, okay,” Revali says, not liking where this is going. “Help me.”

“I must go with the Princess, her condition is far less stable.” Mipha says, and Revali can hear the longing in her voice to be with Link, with her love, to nurse him back to safety. He admires her discipline in that moment.

“Where’s Daruk?”

“Piloting, he is bringing us back to warmer temperature.”

He’s a rock anyway, doesn’t retain heat, Revali’s brain supplies oh so helpfully.

“I must go.” Mipha says, heading in the direction of Urbosa and Zelda. “Do not let him fall asleep until he’s warm again!” She throws over her shoulder before she is gone around the corner.

“Damn,” Revali hisses, but wastes no time pretending he doesn’t know what needs to be done. He hoists Link over his shoulder once again, who has gone fully limp now. “Damn, damn, damn.” He says again for good measure before hauling Hyrule’s Hero over his shoulder like a sack of Tabantha wheat towards his room.

Revali uses the term room loosely – it was not designed for a person to actually live in, but the Champions each made do with their own mechanical room, throwing down mattresses, cots, pillows and furs. Revali tosses down Link, none too gently. It’s probably a bad sign that Link does not protest the rough treatment.

“Oi! Pointy ears!” Revali shrieks in the annoying pitch gifted by the Goddess to the Rito people. “Wake up!” He tugs roughly at Link’s boots, loosening them halfway before wrenching them off the rest of the way. “If this is how you die, then I get the Master Sword.” Revali says.

Link lets out a feeble groan at that, and lets his head fall to the side where his hazy eyes can see where the blade was dropped to the ground in the rush to get him to the bed. Revali thinks that he might have been trying to reach out to it, what with the twitching of his fingers. The effort is lost, however, in his mad dash to pull the wet fur clothes from Link’s body that stick like a second skin. Finally, when Revali has Link down to his undergarments, which were miraculously spared getting wet by the thick layers of his pants, he grabs a nearby blanket and throws it over the shivering boy as he sets to work on his own tunic straps.

"I can’t believe this.” Revali grouses aloud as he shrugs off his weapons and tunic. “This is unbelievable.” He lets his blue scarf pool on the floor and finally when Revali is naked as the day he was hatched, he wastes no time climbing under the fur he’d thrown on top of Link and taking him into his arms.

Link goes willingly, blindly, towards the feathered heat source. “I can’t believe I’m a common bed warmer now.” Revali laments one last time before he finally settles in his duty. Shivers race across his skin beneath his feathers as he feels Link sapping away his heat, and sets to rubbing Link’s chest in an attempt to warm his core. Link lets out what Revali thinks might be a weak giggle and wriggles a few times. Ticklish, Revali thinks. Probably more so, when his body isn’t numbed by hypothermia. Link continues to fight the feeling of feathers on his chest, so Revali settles for pulling him in, holding them chest to chest and he sets to rubbing his back. He’s one giant ice block with arms and legs and a stupid, stupid head.

“Don’t sleep.” He tells Link, who grunts weakly in response. “Mipha said not to let you sleep.” No response this time, and Revali gives him a shake, which Link does not appreciate. Satisfied, Revali coos, although he’ll deny it to the death, “There we go. Stay with me.”

With all that has happened, Revali finds himself at a loss for conversation. So he starts giving Link facts that he imagines would be reassuring. “The Princess is with Mipha and Urbosa now. She’ll be safe.”

He is met with a weak vibration in Link’s back that Revali suspects is meant to be a hum. “Rudania is moving, we’re headed somewhere warmer. Nothing interesting happened while you were gone. I suppose all the excitement in this group follows you.”

Revali allows silence for the next few minutes while he focuses on body heat. Link is slowly becoming warmer, which is a great relief. His eyes are still unfocused, his sounds and movement weak, but Revali is hopeful as a doctor that he hasn’t killed his first patient.

Finally, when he’s certain that Link isn’t about to go belly up, he says. “I apologize for my behavior yesterday. It was unfair to you.” He spits it out fast as if the words might burn his tongue. Link does not reply, but shifts his body ever so slightly from where he’s tucked into Revali’s chest plumage.

Revali follows his apology with the unexpected confession, “I don’t mind if you call me Butterfly. If you want to.”

He’s met with no response, which Revali thinks is perhaps better than having to face any awkwardness that his unexpected confession might elicit. He doesn’t know how much time has passed, but he’s starting to feel normal again, as is Link, the temperature between the two climbing from cold to normal, and slowly to hot. Surely, he can let Link rest now.

“It’s alright to sleep now,” Revali finds himself cooing. Link lets out an unexpectedly deep sigh, like he’s been fighting sleep as if it was Calamity Ganon, and is only now allowed to win.

Revali studies Link’s pinched face as it begins to relax, the tension being drained from him by the blissful ignorance that comes with sleep. He looks younger this way, in sleep. No longer a tired knight, bound to servitude, carrying the many scars of arrows and weapons that Revali can now see plainly in his nakedness. Too many scars to count on both hands, in fact, all from things that look sharp. Somewhere in his mind he thinks that he should feel guilty, taking advantage of a boy naked and helpless. But he’s also saving Link’s life, lowering himself to this baser level of living hot water bottle. So he doesn’t feel so guilty as to stop examining, cataloguing the marks and imperfections in Link’s skin. Arrow scars in his back, shallow slices with blades, a discoloration that Revali suspects might be a burn. But Link’s face is clear. The skim unblemished besides freckles and a deep tan. Revali had simply thought he was always this color, but where his underclothes ride down on his back, just above a surprisingly perky butt, he sees that the Hylian is much paler. He imagines it might be baby soft, but good lord that’s not something he has the right to be thinking about. Looking is one thing. Revali goes back to rubbing heat into his back with fervor.

It reminds Revali just in time, as Link becomes dead to the world, “Happy birthday, by the way. I hope you’re appropriately embarrassed about this tomorrow.”


	7. Chapter 7

It’s a curious thing, the first of many times that it happens. Just when they thought the excitement over.

Revali is eventually shaken awake by the rumbling and jostling of Rudania, whose pace has slowed since last night. Link is still at his front, pressed against the down feathers of his chest, and the arm he’d used to pillow Link’s head was screaming out in pain. Numbed for now, but it will be even worse later. Now that Link’s life is no longer in danger, Revali has the gentlemanly decency to feel bashful,although this is far from the first time he’s lain naked with another, hen or cock. With practiced ease, Revali slips out of Link’s arms without waking him. He gathers his clothes, pulling them on carefully, feeling something like shame as he goes so. It’s not like Link is another casual tryst in the forest outside of the village. What he did was to save his life. Whatever thoughts are scrambling in Revali’s head, he decides to push them aside for now. He has never known Link to be a heavy sleeper, but near death by cold seems to lull him like a baby. He’s curled tight in Revali’s blanket, his skin back to a healthy pink color that Revali finds quite pleasing. He wonders if maybe he should wake Link up and ask him his name, just to check for lasting damage. Perhaps he fell yesterday in his weakened state and bounced his head off a rock, sustaining a mental injury. Ultimately, Revali decides the issue is anyone’s but his, and leaves the room.

Once outside, Revali catches sight of the sun. Still high in the sky, perhaps around 7 or 7:30 in the morning. He heads towards the smell of food, unmistakably a meat stew with Goron curry spice. Around a few more corners and walls – must Rudania be such a maze – he finds his fellow Champions gathered around a cooking pot where the stew bubbles enticingly. Zelda is awake and warm looking against Urbosa’s side again.

“Morning,” He greets, taking an empty spot in the circle. The atmosphere is tense. Zelda looks like a wreck, more so than Link, and it’s obvious from the tension in the air that the attempt at the Spring of Wisdom not only tried to claim their lives, but was ultimately unsuccessful. Revali chooses to ignore the elephant in the room, reaching for the bowl he’s claimed as his.

“Nu uh!” Urbosa says, holding out a hand to stop him from reaching for the soup ladle. “Go get Link first, then you can eat.”

“What?” Revali makes a face, which he should already know is useless against Urbosa. She doesn’t move her hand from the ladle, obviously serious about this.

“He should eat.” Mipha agrees. “I would wake him myself, but…” She trails off and eyes a bundle of Link’s clothing in the corner of the room, folded and stacked.

Right. Nudity and decency.

“Do you mind, Revali? I’m sorry for the fuss.” Zelda’s voice is weak, from the cold air, from the near death, perhaps from both. And he finds that he can’t bring himself to say no to it. Besides, Zelda has Urbosa, guardian of the stew, on her side. And he can’t imagine a way to get to it without spilling it.

“Fine.” He grinds out, to Daruk’s annoying amusement. He gathers up the pile of clothing, Link’s usual blue tunic and tan pants, with a petulant growl. “Let it be known that I dislike being assigned this babysitting duty. Far below me.” He says, perhaps just to himself. “Strongly dislike.”

“I’ll save you a bowl, sweet savior.” Urbosa calls back to him.

Revali turns the clothing over in his hands as he makes his way back to his room. Clean. He wonders who washed them, Mipha or Zelda. On the way back, he has the mind to grab the recurve bow he’d started yesterday for Link as well, which sits on the floor where he left it.

“Oi, Link!” He doesn’t bother trying to be quiet as he stalks into the room. He’s hungry, a bit cranky, and if he’s supposed to wake Link anyway there’s no point. “Get up.” He says once he’s at the end of the bed where Link is still curled beneath the furs.

“I said get up.” Revali gives the mattress a swift kick. “I’m hungry.”

Link seems unbothered by Revali’s tragedy. He has the gall to burrow even further into the fur. “Link, I am quite serious. Urbosa won’t let me eat until I’ve got you dressed.”

Another detached, unhappy grumble. Revali feels pity and guilt curling in his stomach for the Elder who raised him. He remembers being a bit more than a rebellious handful in his worst years. Supposed this is karma, full force, come to bite him in the rear.

“Link.”

Nothing. Revali vaguely recalls a time when he wished Link were a more normal boy his age, with words and expressions. Ironic, that he now finds himself missing that silent, well-behaved Hero who woke with the sun.

“Link. You’re in my bed.”

A groan this time, which seems like a step in the right direction at least.

“Link, don’t make me do something you’ll regret.”

When Link doesn’t reply, Revali drops the pile of clothes on the edge of the bed. He takes the time to set the bow aside, where it won’t be stepped on. Even the Goddess wasn’t holy enough to be putting a foot on something he’d carved. Revali puts his hands on his hips and wonders if there’s any other alternative that get’s Link awake and dressed before Daruk eats all the stew. Never let it be said he didn’t carry out on his good threats.

Armed with his knowledge from last night, Revali grabs and lifts a corner of the blanket near the end of the cot. Link makes an unpleasant sound at that but can't be bothered to do anything about it. Reaching under the blanket he fishes for an ankle, grabs it, and hoists it upward. Link lets out a surprised grunt as his lower half is hauled off the mattress and those blue eyes are suddenly awake. Good, his eyes are focused, Revali thinks before using his free hand to dig his fingers into the bottom of Link’s foot and drag them up and down.

Link starts spasming like a fish at the end of a line. He’s letting out loud gasps and grunts and choked laughter, and oh yeah, he’s ticklish, Revali thinks with smug satisfaction.

“I told you to wake up.” He says, not relenting on the brush of his feathers and scratching of his fingers. The is the closest he imagines Link will ever get to screaming as he scrambles to untangle his upper half from the bed furs while trying to twist himself out of Revlai’s grip. “Hm?” He asks as Link struggles to sign something with his shaking hands. He’s making little karate chops in the air, which Revali recognizes as _stop_ , but for some reason can’t bring himself to.

“Sorry,” He says, feigning disappointment. “I can't understand what you’re signing.” Link looks up at him with pathetic, pleading eyes and flushed cheeks from forced laughter. They’re both aware he’s too weak from yesterday to put up enough of a fight. The Hero of Hyrule resigns himself to pounding the cot with his fists and trying to kick Revali with his free leg.

So cute, Revali thinks, but pointedly ignores it.

He decides to keep tickling Link for a few more seconds, until he feels he’s been repaid for the hassle that was saving his life yesterday. Finally, he drops the leg, and Link scrambles across the mattress to escape Revali’s reach. He’s taking in gulps of air, giving Revali looks of confusion, fear, and helplessness in equal measure.

"Get dressed and come eat,” He says casually, as if he hadn’t just committed a cruel assault against a helpless child. He picks up the stack of clothes and tosses them at their owner. Link catches them, and finally seems to note that's he’s naked save for the undergarments that leave little to the imagination. He squeaks, it’s an honest to Goddess squeak, and pulls the fur to cover his chest. His cute head might just explode at this rate, Revali thinks.

“That’s for taking up my whole bed last night.” He says before turning and leaving Link to dress. He regrets that, not being able to see Link’s pink little face as he pieces together the night before.

He returns to the circle of champions, and a hearty bowl of stew, in a much better mood than before. Goddess forbid, he might have even been whistling, if the squinty-eyed look Urbosa gives him is any indication.

“He’s getting dressed,” Revali explains, reaching for his bowl and spoon. Thank the Goddess for the Goron and their spices.

“He must be right tired.” Daruk says so helpfully.

"Where are we now, Daruk?”

"Near the Lanayru Wetlands.” Mipha offers instead, clearly more familiar with the area. “I will be taking my leave shortly.”

Revali looks out a nearby window. Rudania has slowed to a crawl now, and he sees a river in the distance, which he thinks he recognizes as the one that leads up to Zora’s Domain. The name escapes him. Surely Mipha could have left already, but he supposes she is waiting to see Link in good health before she departs.

“So, what’s the plan now?” He wonders aloud. To no one in particular. Especially not Zelda, who looks like a rain cloud personified.

“I don’t know.” Zelda says, not one to fake plans involving the Champions. “I suppose Mipha, Daruk.” She nods to them each. “Should return to their Domains as planned." Revali nods, poking through his stew for any large chunks of meat. He notices the dagger at Zelda’s hip, the telltale gold hilt and ruby stone. It seems it has not lifted her mood much. He doesn’t say anything more.

“I have a suggestion.” Urbosa says. “An excellent one, at that.”

“Well! Let’s hear it, Lady Urbosa!”

“Not for you, Daruk,” Urbosa says, giving him a look like he should have already known. “I was thinking more a vai's get away.” She reaches out and gently pats Zelda’s knees. “At the Oasis Spa in Gerudo Town. We can tell your father it’s official business. Which it could very well be. There are some ruins in the desert I’d like to have an official emissary examine.” Urbosa adds as an afterthought, “Mipha, please, join us at your earliest convenience.”

Mipha nods in thanks and says something about a few days time. It’s Zelda who says, “Oh, Urbosa. I thank for you the invitation, but with this recent failure, I don’t know if I can afford the time off.”

“Nonsense.” Urbosa waves a dismissive hand. “Apologies to the voes, but this is well deserved, I’d think.”

Zelda looks ready to argue some more, but Link takes this excellent opportunity to reappear. His cheeks are back to a normal color, and his face schooled and straight. Revali would have never guessed just mere minutes ago he had the Hero at his mercy. To his further surprise, Link does not immediately go the Princess’s side, instead folding his legs to drop down next to Revali.

When he sets his weapons at his side, Revali notes the recurve bow. Not that it brings him any particular happiness. Link accepts a bowl of stew form Urbosa with a nod of thanks, and signs something quickly before digging in.

“Zelda has just agreed to a spa getaway in Gerudo Town.” Urbosa says smugly.

“Lady Urbosa! I have hardly!”

“Surely you have.” Urbosa says, and before Zelda can react to stop her, she has reached across the Princess’s waist and stolen the Sheikah Slate from her belt. “Here, voe.” She says before tossing it gently to Link. “Certainly he could also use a vacation.”

Link holds the slate in his hand, looking neutrally between Zelda and Urbosa. When Zelda sighs and shakes her head, he hangs the Sheikah Slate from his hip.

“How are you feeling, Link?” Mipha asks.

Link signs one handed, something that looks like _good._

“Glad to hear it.” Revali says, to the apparent surprise of his fellow Champions. “It would be a waste for you to die after the work I put into keeping you alive.” He quickly amends.

"Your signing is coming along excellently, Revali.” Zelda says, and it sounds like she’s on her way to being her normal self again. Good. The girl could do with less wallowing, in Revali’s esteemed opinion.

“Speaking of signing.” He says, pointing an accusing finger at his friends. “I’ve a bone to pick with the lot of you. Who thinks it’s okay to be calling me Butterfly?”

Several things happen at once. Namely, Link makes a quiet choking sound. Mipha might even giggle. Daruk lets out a bark of a laugh that he’s been clearly holding for this very moment, and Zelda smiles like she’s got all the secrets in the world.

“Please don’t blame Link,” Zelda says once she’s got her smile under control enough to say words. “It was our idea really. He tries not to use it.”

“Oh, does he?” Revali leans over to peek up at Link, doing his Octorok impression again. “Does he just never speak about me? The offenses keep coming.”

Link vigorously shakes his head and chooses to examine the scenery outside Rudania instead, suddenly of great interest to him.

“He gets red every time he says it,” Urbosa adds evilly, and her pink painted lips are curled in a vicious smirk.

Link’s face turns a whole different shade. Forget Octorok, he’s slowly becoming a Fire ChuChu.

“Shall I come up with something for you then?” He crosses his arms, pretending to be in serious thought. “How about Red?” Revali teases, making the sign rather expertly in his opinion; a downward stroke of his finger over the tip of his beak.

It’s then that the curious thing happens.

Link, who is in fact a deep shade of red, looks like he’s trying to curl into himself as the others in the group laugh and laugh. Revali is the first to see it, the Sheikah Slate at Link’s hip come to life in a flash of light and gentle vibration.

“Link!” He cries out and points.

Link looks down, embarrassment forgotten, and unhooks the slate from his hip. A humming sound fills the air, like pulsating energy. It’s unlike anything Revali’s ever heard. Link, clutching the Sheikah Slate like it’s his only tether to this world, slowly starts to turn blue. Not a simple blue, but a swirling mix of bluish hues. Like the different colors in Link’s eyes. Like the color of rivers, pools, and oceans. Link turns those eyes on Revali now as, and he’s never seen fear like that. Not when Link faced Moblins, not when he faced his own death from the cold.

Revali spends so much time wishing those eyes were on him. He just wishes they could be under different circumstances.

The blue starts near Link’s chest, his heart, and it courses through his body with astounding speed.

“Link!” Revali cries again, lunging forward. He manages to grasp Link’s hand, and he knows he feels it squeezing him back. “Link, hold on to me!”

“Link!” Zelda is the one screeching this time, and Revali sees out of the corner of his eye that she is being held back by Urbosa.

Revali can’t imagine it’s safe to be touching him like this, but he can't bring himself to care. “I’ve got you,” He says, like it’s meant to be a comfort.

Link’s eyes are still scared when his body is overwhelmed by blue, and his body freezes like statue, as if he's been caught in time. His feet are lifting off the ground. It’s not much, less than a foot, but no matter how hard Revali tugs, he can’t bring him back down. Slowly, the blue of Link’s body turns into tendrils, as if Link is being pulled into the sky piece by piece.

Revali feels it when Link’s hand is pulled from his to the sky. The feeling is like ticklish electricity, and the tendrils of blue that was once Link’s hand are slipping through his fingers into the sky like smoke.

“Link!”

Bit by bit, Link is pulled into the sky until the blue slowly turns to a white light and fades away like it was never there.

“Where is he?” Zelda shrieks, running to the rails of Rudania, looking every which way she can. Daruk runs back inside, peering around corners and walls. “Where did he go he was just here!”

Revali hears it first, with his superior ears. The same humming sound that accompanied Link’s abduction is manifesting outside. “Outside!” He tells the others, vaulting himself over the cooking pot in his hurry to one of Rudania’s outer decks. Daruk has halted the beast for now, and Revali cocks his head in every which direction.

“There!” He points out to the nearby river, the one that leads up to Zora’s Domain. The other Champions join him at the railing, squinting in the direction Revali has pointed out.

With superior Rito ears came superior Rito eyes, and Revali had a clear view of the bright white light that emerges from over the river. The blue tendrils are back, except this time descending and coiling, beginning at the bottom as if they were rebuilding a person. Revali watches as the process works in reverse, and slowly the blue light forms the shape of Link’s body.

“Link!” Revali tries again and takes flight. He hears the Champions trying to follow, but they don't have the advantage of flight. It’s a short cruise on an up draft, and Revali is there in seconds. Just in time to see the blue outline and tendrils turn back into Link’s normal body, still frozen in the way he was when he was pulled into the sky.

Whatever power the Sheikah Slate had slowly ebbs from Link’s body, and he is unceremoniously dumped into the river waiting below him. It would be comical, were it not terrifying.


	8. Chapter 8

Mipha and Revali manage to fish Link out of the fast moving water. He looks confused, cold, and downright miserable as goes to change outfits, again, surrendering the Sheikah Slate to Zelda. She spends the next few hours pouring over it, fiddling with the control and trying to recreate whatever Link had done earlier to unlock the travel ability, much to Urbosa’s concern and displeasure.

Link can offer little, even with his carefully picked signs. He does not remember anything out of the ordinary. He had not even been touching the slate when it activated. One minute he was feeling fine, the next he felt nothing, and lastly he knew the cold of the river. The best way he could describe the in-between was as _feather_. Weightless.

Ultimately, Zelda is unsuccessful.

Mipha, after confirming Link’s health, returns to Zora’s Domain through the same river Link had recently made home. Daruk resets Rudania’s course for Hyrule Castle, intending to double back to Death Mountain. He insists it’s only right, considering the health of the Princess, and that if his son is anything like him he’ll be a few days later than expected anyhow.

Urbosa is profusely thankful, and Zelda offers him a distracted smile. Link says nothing – pardon, signs nothing – and Revali offers him a pat on the back, quickly dodging the one that Daruk tries to return. He understands just as well how it feels to be so underappreciated.

It seems that when Zelda and Link aren’t attached at the hip, they are still attached at the heart. As Zelda remains in her funk of being unable to activate the Sheikah Slate, Link pouts in equal measure. For two days. Zelda tucks herself away with the Slate, and Link becomes the Champion of Hide and Seek. It drives Revali nearly mad; He wants to scream at Link, maybe slap him once or twice. Goddess grant him patience, he’d tickle him silly if he thought it would help any. But Link wants nothing to do with anything or anyone so long as Zelda refuses to even take meals at the same time as him.

So Revali does what he does best. Pokes at fresh bruises.

Revali bides his time, waits for Link to be watching Zelda from an upper level deck on Rudania. He’s got maybe an hour or so before they arice at Hyrule Castle, and figures if he doesn’t do it now he never will.

Revali doesn’t say anything, just watches Link from the doorway onto the viewing deck. He’s distracted, or else he would have noticed Revali’s eyes by now. When he finally does notice he doesn’t turn around immediately, but Revali sees Link tense up. Sees his fingers twitch for his blade on instinct.

“Let’s have a chat.” Revali finally says.

Link turns to him, but doesn’t make eye contact. _Later_ , he signs, and moves to slip past Revali back inside as he has done every time Revali’s tried to speak with him. Slippery little guy. This time, when Link tries to slide past him, Revali throws out an arm, slapping his hand against the doorway to block Link’s path.

“Or now.” Revali counters. Link is standing just to the side of him, staring at his arm like he can’t believe it’s there. He wonders how often someone blocks the path of the Hero of Hyrule. “My time is a commodity, Link. Even the Goddess wouldn’t say no.”

Gosh, he hopes Link doesn’t try to cut his arm off with the Master Sword. Would be a shame to have to kill him after they’d started making such headway in their friendship.

Link ponders his arm a bit longer. Revali’s starting to think yeah, he might actually try to remove it, but after a few more tense moments Link deflates like a popped Octorok balloon. In perhaps the most petulant act Revali’s ever seen, Link huffs and stomps back to the railing of the deck, where he leans on his elbows and rests his chin on his fists.

Well, Revali’s got what he wants. Now what does he do with it?

Like when they first met, Revali finds himself resorting to childish jabs when he doesn’t know what do with Link. “So, I guess the score is 0 Zelda, 101 you, huh?”

Like when they first met, Link doesn’t rise to the bait. Doesn’t even turn to look at Revali. “Alright,” He says instead, walking over to stand beside Link. He’s simply appreciating the sweet breeze that drifts down from Zora’s Domain. Not the musk of sweat and sword oil, or spring water clinging to skin.

“I understand.” Revali offers, which catches Link off guard. “Obviously not from Zelda’s point of view. I’ve never found myself to be the one trailing behind.” Revali thinks for a minute, letting Link absorb his words. “Well, now, I suppose not from your point of view either. There’s never a good reason to be ashamed of one’s superior skill. So I suppose I don’t know how you feel either.”

Revali can sense the sheer desperation of the eye roll that Link aims upward to the Goddess’s skies.

“Look, hatchling. I’m not trying to tell you how to live your life or how to waste your emotions. If you want to waste energy feeling guilty over another’s incompetence, I can’t and won’t bother to stop you.”

Revali meant for this to be a pep talk, he swears.

“I just, I want you to know.” Revali stops to gather himself. Stops to wonder what in the name of the Goddess he thinks he’s doing. He’s aware he’s a man of considerable skill and endless potential, but these little heart to hearts. They try his ability.

“I respect you.” The words actually slip out easier than he expected. “You put your life at risk for her. Against monsters, and on that mountain. She resents you for keeping her alive, but what choice do you have?”

Goddess, what sort of comfort is he supposed to be offering?

“Look, I just, I respect you. You understand?” Revali finally grinds out, certain he’s tossed the whole conersation out the window. What a waste of effort.

Link just laughs.

“Don't laugh!” Revali clicks his beak, feeling heat rise to his cheeks. Strange, to feel the shoe on the other talon as Link laughs his fill at his expense.

After Link’s got himself under control, he taps Revali’s shoulder until he turns. His smile is gone, his lips carefully set in a neutral line, but Revali reads a sadness in his pretty blue eyes.

_You think… hate… me?_

“No,” Revali says before his brain is even certain of his translation. “If I can’t hate you, there isn’t a person out there who could.”

Link smiles at that and blows him another kiss. Or he signs _thank you_ , Revali is pleased with eit her, but to be honest prefers one to the other.

In another attempt to see that smile again, “Would you like to visit Rito Village?”

Link looks at him with wide eyes, like a doe before an arrow. “Well, since you can’t get into Gerudo Town. And Zelda will be plenty safe with Urbosa. I thought I might show you how to properly use a recurve bow.”

Link still looks skeptical, and Revali would be offended if it weren’t a totally justifiable response. But, he’s not about to be rejected for the first time in his life that he puts himself out there first. “I can show you that sunset from the roost in the village.”

That certainly sells Link on the idea, who seems equally shocked and overjoyed that Revali remembered in the first place. He’s nodding enthusiastically, signing so many thinges at once that Revali's eyes cross a little. Link does another curious thing then, that doesn’t involve him being dumped in a river. He holds out his pinky.

Revali looks at the offending finger then back to Link incredulously. “You can't be serious.”

Link nods.

“This is childish, and I will have no part of it.”

Link waits.

“This is asinine.”

When it becomes obvious that Link will not be deterred from sealing this promise, Revali has no choice but to sigh and lift his hand as if it’s the greatest hassle in all of Hyrule. After much groaning and nonverbal complaining, their pinkies hook.

Revali supposes it’s the polite thing to do for a boy who speaks entirely with his hands.

* * *

Tearing Zelda away from the Sheikah Slate is a fight and a half, which Revali leaves entirely to Urbosa. If anything, the Gerudo Lady is in even more of a rush to sweep the Princess away to her desert oasis than before. She senses as well as everyone else that Zeda’s mood has only soured since Link successfully activated the Sheikah Slate, and has been taking it out on her Knight. She snaps at him not to help carry her things down from Rudania, that he need not escort her to a meeting with her own Father when they arrive at Hyrule Castle, doesn’t he have anything better to do with himself?

It turns out that as the personal Knight and Champion of the crown Princess Zelda, mortal incarnation of the Goddess Hylia, Link does not, in fact, have better things to do.

The whole thing ruffles Revali’s feathers, but he knows Link would not forgive any of the harsh words he has in mind for the Princess. Urbosa pointedly does not condone Zelda’s behavior, but agrees its better they spend some time apart rather than address the Ruta sized elephant in the room.

If Link is at all bothered by any of it, at this point it doesn't show. Not that Revali would expect it to.

They stay a few nights at Hyrule Castle, where Zelda is chastised by her father, Urbosa sends a raven to make preparations in Gerudo Town, and Revali writes home to announce his return as well. He doesn’t see much of Link during this time, who by propriety will not be seen apart from the Princess for more than a few hours at most. A plan is made that Revali will fly home to Rito Village, and after Link escorts Zelda to Gerudo Town he will head north and join with him there.

Revali does not miss the knowing smile that Urbosa shoots him. “For an official training session, one Champion to another.” He explains, to which Link nods happily.

Zelda does not deny Link this momentary freedom. Although it is well within her power to do so, Urbosa later tells Revali that the Princess is glad for this opportunity, in which Link might live his own life from out beneath her shadow.

“She feels guilty, dictating his life so completely by her own mere existence.” Urbosa tells him.

“It must be tiring to love, resent, and pity someone all at once.” Is all Revali has to say on the matter.

The four Champions leave Castle Hyrule on the same day, albeit in different directions. Revali has opted to fly – faster, and it has been ages since he’s properly stretched his wings. Link, Zelda, and Urbosa are loading their things on Naboris, who had been patiently awaiting the return of it’s Pilot at the castle. Revali watches the soldiers loading the Princess’s personal effects onto Naboris. He supposes a Princess has no choice but to carry a few chests worth of items whenever she goes on extended trips. Revali himself has one backpack worth of personal affects to bring back to Rito with him, which is already strapped to his back.

Honestly, he should and could have left hours ago.

He refuses to admit that the only reason he’s hanging around is the small shred of hope that Link might stop by to say goodbye. He also refuses to admit that his heart grows to the size of a hydromelon when there’s a gentle but firm knock at the door that could belong to no one else.

 _Wanted goodbye_ , Link tells him when Revali lets him inside, trying to not seem too excited. _I will send a bird when leave G Town._

Revali nods. “I’ll look forward to it,” He says, eyeing the Sheikah Slate at Link’s hip. He wonders how far the ancient technology could reach. How quickly Link could be back at his side if they could only figure out how to use it. That was another part of the plan, for Link to hold onto the Sheikah Slate. Zelda still can’t figure out how the travel feature works or what triggered it to activate in the first place. As a result, they think it’s better kept in Link’s trusty hands.

The idea is actually proposed by two Sheikah women that Revali have seen around the castle but never formally met, Impa and Purah. They’re advisors to King Rhoam and Zelda in all manners political and scientific, and they must be quite respected in their own right for Zelda to accept their plan so easily. No reason to send an unsuspecting, incapable scientist hurtling through time and space unexpectedly, they say. Link’s the only one they imagine capable of handling whatever the slate throws out next. It makes sense, but that doesn't mean Revali has to like it. He remembers the feeling of Link, and whatever blue energy his body had become, slipping from his fingers into the sky. He never wants to feel that happen again, but Revali knows that he’s only jinxing himself with such thoughts.

He also decides not to think too much on the several times he’s seen them speaking to Link in hushed tones around the castle. Some secrets are better left secrets.

“Good. You know the way from Gerudo Desert, right?”

An offended look and a nod.

“Just wanted to double check.” Revali shrugged. “I’ve never really seen you travel by yourself. You might be spacing out the whole time, just following Zelda.”

Link lands a playful punch on his shoulder, but doesn’t deny the possibility.

Revali crosses his arms and lets his gaze drift slightly sideways. “My father is looking forward to meeting you by the way. Well, I suppose you’ve already met. But he looks forward to seeing you again.”

Link gives him a baffled look. “The Elder,” He explains.

 _Your father_ , Link signs, _Elder?_

“Well, he’s not my billogical father. He was widowed and childless when my parents were killed by Moblins, so he took me in and raised me.” Revali tries to to explain in as casual a tone as possible.

Which is to say, not that casual.

Link replies with a sad face, reaching out gently to place a hand on Revali’s arm. He’s about to be angry, about to brush him off and say something about wasting pity. But he thinks he sees something else in Link’s eyes, like understanding.

Revali briefly wonders if Link even had parents, or if he simply popped into existence when Zelda was born. It’s difficult to imagine him as a child.

“It’s nothing,” Revali says, and, really, it is. “I’m hoping you meet him sooner rather than later, in fact. He’s convinced the only reason I’m coming home to visit is because I’ve been such a pain in the tail feathers that you’ve kicked me out of the group.”

_Still could._

“Oh shut it!” Revali clicks his beak in what another Rito might interpret as a flirtatious manner, but never mind that. “I should get going, if I mean to make good distance by sunset." He says, knowing that a bit of regret at parting ways has slipped into his voice.

Link seems to share the feeling. _Week… maximum._

Revali steps out onto his balcony, trusting Link to close the doors behind him. “Well, aimless as you are without me, try not to fall in a bog before you make it to Rito Village. It would be a shame if I go to all the trouble of putting together an extra bed in my roost just for you to drown.”

Revali thinks he sees the beginnings of a blush on Link’s face. He hadn’t exactly asked if Link was comfortable sharing a room for his visit. But that was what he’d had in mind, and Link would just have to accept it. Besides, he doesn’t exactly give Link time to argue as he takes off into the air using Revali’s Gale, sending Link tumbling backwards into the room for good measure.

“Remember! If you hit the Tundra, you’ve gone too far!”


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you to everyone who left kudos and such wonderful reviews!

The flight home to Rito Village is quick and painless. It takes Revali a little over three days of leisurely travel at a borderline lazy pace, simply because it has been so long since he’s taken a break from anything. He doesn't encounter any monsters along the way, and were he an average Rito he might consider it suspiciously good fortune rather than skill. His thoughts are not consumed by Link’s absence, as a part of him feared they would be. He does think of him time to time, but only when he catches sight of the Hylian mushrooms Link adores so much, or the red apples he’s willing to climb any tree for, no matter the height.

He’s sure Link is finding plenty of mushrooms and fruit on his own in his travels.

Revali's heart soars when he catches his first glimpse of Medoh circling the sky above Rito Village. It's been far too long, he thinks, and to be honest all thoughts of Link temporarily leave his mind. He’s home again.

His father is waiting for him on the flight deck outside the Elder’s home. He looks like he’s been there all day, clearly having made himself comfortable in the sun with a basket of wildberries and an empty bottle of milk. It’s just after dinner now, and the sun has almost completely set.

“My son,” The Elder hoots fondly when Revali makes his landing and goes straight to embrace his father. “The Champion of the Rito has returned.”

“It’s good to be home," Revali replies. “Even if it’s temporary.” He adds as an afterthought and gentle reminder. Just in case.

The Elder nods and puts an arm around Revali as they make their way up from the flight deck towards Revali’s house, just as he used to do when Revali was fledgling. “Just, tell me once again,” He says, and sounds quite serious about it. “You’re absolutely certain they haven’t kicked you out of the group?”

Revali clicks his beak and rolls his eyes to the delight of the Elder.

“Did you encounter any troubles on the road?”

“Of course not,” Revali smirks with a certain air of confidence. “Surely word of my prowess as both Champion and pilot has reached every corner of Hyrule by now. Who would dare challenge me?”

“Indeed, who dare,” His father agrees sagely. And perhaps sarcastically. He must be going senile in his old age, Revali concludes sadly. The Rito that they pass nod respectfully to Revali, assuming he is anxious to reach his house at this hour after travelling all the way from Hyrule. Revali expects a feast will be held tomorrow, after he’s had a moment’s peace.

The Elder tells him a few of the bigger happenings in the village – engagements, births, a few tragic passings, and the opening of a new shop. Revali nods along, hearing and recognizing the names, but finding himself suddenly too exhausted to commit the entirety to memory. His father seems to realize as much and remains in the doorway of Revali’s home once they arrive.

Revali's roost is a bit removed from the rest of the villager’s, but it is no more lavish or luxurious. It is a pagoda style home, as is the norm in Rito Village, with a hammock hanging in one window, some cookware, chests of personal affects, and a desk. Newly added would be the cot, which has been dragged and left in the center of the small circle that makes up his home, the only space in which it fit.

“I had it brought up from the inn,” The Elder explains. “Hylian visitors are scarce this time of year, I doubt it will be missed.”

“Many thanks to you and the innkeeper. Something about these Hylians and keeping their tail feathers on the ground.” Revali says, testing the soft give of the cot and the thickness of the blankets. It gets cold in Rito Village at night, but the bedding should suffice. “I’ll be sure to stop in tomorrow and give my thanks personally.”

If The Elder is surprised by Revali’s sudden politeness he doesn’t mention it. “When can we expect young master Link?”

“I haven’t the slightest idea.” Revali slips his leather pack from his aching shoulders, resting it on the floor while he debates the urgency of unpacking it. “He must first attend to his Knightly duties elsewhere, but he promised to send a raven.”

“It may have just beat you here then,” The Elder points to Revali’s desk, where a stack of envelopes are set beneath a small chunk of polished opal. “You’ve received a few letters in the past few days.”

“I suppose I’ll have to attend them before bed, then.” Revali says with a sigh, but reaches for them anyway.

If the Elder is also surprised by Revali’s sudden responsibility, he doesn’t mention it either. “I’ll see you in the morning, then?” He asks instead.

Revali hums something in agreement, and The Elder excuses himself for the night as his son busies himself with his letters.

The first is an anonymous letter from a fan. Revali skims the first few sentences just to be certain before he sets it aside. Once upon a time he would devour these letters upon receiving them, fueled by the praise that he found there. Now, he wonders if he’ll bother getting back to it. The next three letters are also fan mail, which Revali sets to the side along with the first.

The next is a letter from Daruk. Revali should have known, the envelope smelled like volcanic smoke. Daruk’s letter is a loud and happy announcement of his firstborn; A fat, happy boy who eats rock roasts in boastful amounts. Boastful being Daruk’s word, Revali would choose something more along the lines of “alarming”. The new parents are over the moon but have yet to decide on a name. There’s a small sketch at the bottom of the letter, clearly done with a charcoal stick that leaves black soot on Revali’s fingers. It’s one of two things: a rock or a child. Considering the circumstances, Revali deduces it is a Goron child. Cute even. He sets the letter aside for safekeeping, wondering what sort of gift would be suitable for the son of a Goron. The child will have his fill of precious gems, perhaps he would like an ornate cloak made from the feathers of wild birds, dyed by wildberries and safflina petals. The Goron’s are not exactly known for intricate clothing.

Revali opens one of his desk drawers and slips the letter inside for safekeeping. The last envelope in his hands is light pink and smells thickly of Gerudo perfume and incense. Revali half expects it to be full of sand as he tears it open.

_Dear Feathers,_

_Hoping to find you well. I know it’s been a long few days apart, but with any luck you’ve managed without me. Zelda and I are already settling into our relaxing getaway. The weather leaves much to be desired, far too hot and dry lately. Oh wait, I live in a desert._

Revali rolls his eyes so hard he gives himself a migraine. Or perhaps it’s the travelling, the lack of sleep and having to read Urbosa’s tiny scrawl. The strong perfume smell doesn’t help either. He skips ahead and waits for something to catch his eye. 

_and after a few unrelated fires and hysterical childbirths, a small harem founded itself outside the walls where Link stayed for lunch. Should things with Mipha take a tragic turn, he will have no lack in suitors._

Something in Revali’s heart inspires him to tear the letter in half. Luckily, something in his head (pride) forces him to continue reading.

_Yet have no fear! Link hardly stayed for dessert before he was galloping into the sunset towards Rito Village. I expect he’ll be arriving in three days time, perhaps sooner. It’s as if he has a place he desperately wishes to be. Anyhow, Zelda and I will be in touch. Sav'orq for now, my love. Swear you will dream of me, as I do of you._

_Urbosa_

Revali rolls his eyes. She must really make herself laugh. He sniffs the letter again, even as the perfume causes a spike in his migraine. The smell is still strong. It couldn’t have been too long now, the letter was sent maybe a day and a half ago, at most? Revali is certain this knowledge would give him a giddy feeling in his stomach if he weren’t ready to fall face first in his hammock. It comes as no surprise that Link is an adept adventurer, capable of making quick time across Tabantha.

It’s been a few days, so Revali sinks into his hammock – freshly dusted – and commits himself to practicing a few signs. _Red. Bird. I’m sorry. Fish. Apple. Are you hungry? Good travel?_

The air is warm and the perfect dryness as Revali is gently rocked to sleep by the wind. He’s missed this, sleeping outdoors and in at the same time. Rito aren’t meant for castles and walking, and he finds incredible joy in seeing the moon and stars from his bed. His eyelids are drooping as he fumbles a bit with his fingers. _Bed… comfortable?_

* * *

 Revali misses another sunrise, but can’t bring himself to care. The sun is high in the sky when he finally rubs his eyes open and finds a plate of fresh fruits beneath a handkerchief on his table.

The celebratory feast is turned into a fanciful, albeit late, lunch at Revali’s behest. He spends the majority of his day at it, trading small talk with villagers he hadn’t realized he’d missed. He even missed the little chores around the village, and goes on a hunting expedition in the late afternoon. Which he decides to double as the target practice he meant to squeeze into the morning he slept through. I’m slipping, he thinks lazily. I’ll work on it tomorrow, he thinks immediately afterwards.

The Elder certainly sets him to task. "Performing his leadership duties" is how it’s explained when he’s expected to settle an ongoing feud between two Rito men over a fishing spot in Totori Lake. The Elder has had no luck talking sense into them, and Revali half-patiently sits through both of their accounts. He gives the matter a great deal of thought, upwards of twenty seconds, before he takes two Feathered Edges from off the weapons display on the wall and throws them at their feet. The two Rito men – did Revali ever hear their names? – look dumbly at one another for a few minutes, before they sheepishly agree to share their new fishing spot together. Perhaps a different approach than the Elder would have taken, but nobody is surprised that Revali’s first reaction to trouble is to throw something sharp at it. He thinks he sees a glimmer of pride in his father’s eye. Afterwards, Revali solves a few more disputes and approves some new construction and expansion requests in the village, and by that time most of the day is already gone.

After addressing all community matters the Elder retires to his roost for the day, and Revali makes a visit to the villages best weaver, something he probably should have done earlier.

Loriini seems to agree, calling out "Get in here, hatchling," before Revali even has the chance to knock. He braces himself before ducking into her roost, knowing he's in for an earful.

Upon pushing aside a curtain that serves as the door to the roost, Revali is immediately met with the smell of wildberry tarts. Loriini is sitting in her rocking chair near an open window, her hands gently running over the blanket she's working on with deft fingers. She doesn't say anything when Revali comes in, but gestures to the tarts, his favorite, before returning to her blanket. "I meant to come sooner," Revali offers lamely as he moves to sit on the floor near her feet, swiping a tart and eating it in a single bite. "You weren't at the lunch today."

"Meant to," Loriini mocks with a snort. "These bones are too old for village gatherings. I'm already blind, I could die any day now."

Revali clicks his beak, a shy apology, and looks up the woman who helped raise him. He acknowledges sadly that she's gotten older since he last saw her. Her feathers, once bright reds, greens, and blue, are more faded than he remembers. She slouches more now, but still holds her head high as her hands smooth over a small hiccup in the woven blanket. She curses like a sailor as she goes about undoing the threading of the section. 

"Don't you look at me like that," Loriini snaps, her sightless, milky eyes focusing on Revali with unnerving accuracy while her fingers work the fabric. "I won't have some brat pitying me."

"I'd rather you didn't make light of your own death," Revali admitted. Although he was secretly relieved to find her in her usual mood, despite her aging. "Old hag." He adds fondly.

Loriini cracks a smile at that. "If anyone's to blame it's you. Raising you has aged me at least a millennia," she mumbles to herself. "What a waste of my youthful beauty. Such is a mother's tragedy."

Revali grunts a sound that's meant to be a half apology and swipes another tart. Loriini is not actually his mother, just as The Elder is not necessarily his father. Like The Elder, she was widowed young and could not bring herself to remarry. Instead she took to weaving and babysitting Revali when The Elder was called away from the Village.

Loriini hums to herself as Revali chews his tart, enjoying the silence and one another's company after a long time apart. Finally, when she is satisfied with the status of the blanket, she sets it aside. "Well you came for a reason. Let's hear it."

"Two reasons, actually." He admits shyly. No point in trying to hide it. "Daruk, the Goron Champion and a dear friend of mine, has been blessed with a son. I'd like to have a cloak made for the babe."

"Very well."

"And, ah," Revali scratches his head, wishing there wasn't so much embarrassment in his voice. Although Loriini would probably be able to tell anyhow. "The second is two things, actually... bit more personal business."

Loriini nods, and without missing a beat, "Is this about that gentleman caller you're expecting?"

"No!" Revali shrieks, nearly choking on the tart in his mouth. "I mean, yes, but he's not, we're not-" 

"You couldn't lie to me as a child, Revali, you can't lie to me now." She waves her hand at him, dismissing the rest of Revali's poor excuse for an argument before he can even get it out. "What did you have in mind?"

Revali hangs his head in embarrassment like a scolded child. He hadn't exactly missed this part of Loriini. No doubt she's been gossiping with his father. "Well, I'd hoped to take him to the flight range, so,"

"I think I know," Loriini hums in amusement. With a sigh she raises herself from the rocking chair, her joints popping, and Revali jumps up to take her arm. He follows her over to where her assorted frabrics are hanging from a hook in her roost. She starts sifting through them one by one, muttering quietly to herself as she feels them in her hands. One by one she finds some fabrics that satisfy her demands and pile them in Revali's waiting arms; soft down feather lining, reds, tans, a few strips of leather. She stops to evaluate what Revali is carrying with her gentle fingers, before she finally decides, "These should do for now."

Revali follows Loriini back over to her rocking chair where she sits and selects the strip of feather lining first. "How could I ever thank you?" He asks with a smile.

Loriini hums thoughtfully to herself while she spreads out the fabric on her lap. "Sit at my feet." She says. "Read out loud like you used to when you were a fledgling."

Revali let's himself smile and picks out a worn and familiar book from a nearby shelf. It's a collection of Rito Fairytales, the same copy he learned to read from as a child. 

* * *

Revali spends the next few hours at Loriini's feet, reading out loud from his favorite stories. He ends up bringing their dinner there, talking easily with her and occasionally helping her work. Not long after dinner Loriini kicks him out of the hut to retire for the evening, citing a tired back and once again reminding Revali that she is most certainly dying soon, so he should write home more often.

Feeling properly guilted, Revali leaves Loriini's roost and takes directly to the sky to check on Medoh, who faithfully circles the village above. He lands on Medoh’s back, relishing the click of his talons on the stone. He feels the vibration of Medoh’s magic and Sheikah technology below him, and savors how powerful it makes him feel.

“Did you miss me?” Revali asks aloud as he wanders into the belly of the Divine Beast, trailing his fingers along the cool stone walls. He thinks he hears the beast groan in response. “I’ve missed you, if it counts.” He offers conversationally, finally coming to one of the many windows in the walls. “You wouldn’t believe how they’ve had me travelling. On the ground. It’s barbaric.”

He thinks he gets a groan of agreement. “Link is coming,” He says hesitantly, as if this were a real conversation that he should be embarrassed about. “I’m thinking about bringing him up, if you don’t mind… Although I suppose he’s been here before.”

Another groan. Maybe the wind, maybe Medoh has already had it up to here with his woeful complaining. “Am I being silly?”

Revali walks his way through Medoh, trailing his fingers over all the walls. He has every corridor memorized like a second body. When he reaches the head he makes his way to the tip of the beak where he can sit and watch the ground below him. He sets a smooth, circling course, and sits to watch over the land below him. Wings that don’t tire, he thinks fondly, perhaps even jealously. Revali lets his legs dangle over the edge, relishing the thrill that zips through his stomach at these heights.

"I missed you too," he says to Medoh and the Tabantha sunset.


	10. Chapter 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter goes a bit into Link's backstory. Because three out of four of the Divine Beasts take their names from the Sages in Ocarina of Time, I thought it would be okay to borrow some of Link's backstory from that game as well. Hope this still flows for everybody!

Only when the sun has started its slow crawl towards the horizon does Revali grudgingly make his way to one of the flight decks to make the trip down. Medoh is making its way over Dronoc’s Pass as Revali falls backwards, wings stretched, aiming for the dots of red and orange that light up the village. He takes a zigzagging pattern down, letting the air currents toss him a little rather than steering himself. There’s something to be said for closing your eyes and letting the skies guide you.

“Revali? What are you doing here?” The Innkeeper’s daughter says when she sees him floating down from the sky. Her name is Columba, a close childhood friend, and Revali would be lying to say he didn’t find her beautiful. He was surprised to find her still unmarried upon his return.

“Well, Colly. I do live here.” He says with a playful smirk that makes all the ladies blush. Well, he assumes as much, beneath the feathers and all.

“Revali! You mustn’t tease me so.” She may or may not bat her eyelashes. “You know I treasure your company. I meant that I’m surprised to see you here instead of with your guest.”

“Guest?”

“The boy in blue, Link, was it? He arrived not two hours ago.”

Revali feels his heart drop down into his stomach. “Oh, Goddess.”

“He’s with the Elder now.”

Revali doesn’t take the time to thank Colly, or offer some lame excuse of seeing her later. He takes off, upwards, as if a Lynel were on his tail. “That old man, I swear to the Goddess!”

His worst fears are, in fact, confirmed when Revali lands in the windowsill of the Elder’s home to find Link sitting cross legged on the floor, intently (or perhaps entirely dissociatively) listening to the Elder’s words. Ah. Paralyzed with fear, Revali ultimately decides when he sees that his horrible embarrassment of a father has his head turned entirely upside down, which he normally saves for scaring misbehaving hatchlings.

“If you have the courage and determination to proceed in the face of destiny,” The Elder hoots, “The I shall teach you something useful.”

Sweet Goddess how long had he left Link to this torture?

“Link!” He hops down, and quickly moves to stand between the Hylian on the floor and the senile owl in the rocking chair. “Elder,” He adds as a curt and courteous afterthought. “How long have you been here? I am so sorry-“

“Come now, young man!” The Elder hoots with a laugh in his voice, clearly enjoying the situation. “I was speaking to young master Link. Now, what was I saying? Yes, yes, the Rito you’ve described to me could not possibly be my hatchling, Revali. For Revali would not forget to write his ailing father and put his old heart to worry. No.” He sighed dramatically. “I fear my sweet fledgling Revali is gone from this world.”

“Father, please do not tell people that I’ve died.”

“Sometimes I can still hear his sweet voice.”

“I apologize, Link.” Revali puts an arm around him and gently pulls him to his feet. “It is most embarrassing. Although he does not know it in his old age, he often forgets important things. Such as his manners, or how to properly announce the arrival of guests.” He pointedly gives his father the most sarcastically concerned look he can muster. “Come, let us leave him to his age and frailty.”

Link looks ready to politely argue, bless his heart. But there are heavy bags under his eyes and he’s making a face like his neck is pinched and sore.

“Until tomorrow, then!” The Elder calls after them as Revali all but pulls Link from the room, mumbling unhappily as he does so.

Revali must have offended the Goddess recently, because Columba is waiting outside, looking like she was waiting for someone in particular and has been soundly disappointed. Nonetheless, she is nothing short of proper when they meet. “I’m sorry, I’ve not yet had the pleasure.” She says and shakes Link’s hand. “My name is Columbia, I run the inn with my father. But call me Colly, if it pleases you.” She stops and turns to Revali, smiling sweetly. “Revali called me that as fledglings, and the name’s stuck ever since.”

Revali feels heat rise to his cheeks at that – he’s not sure he likes the idea of being known as a person who gives pet names to girls. Link elbows him, unnecessarily roughly, in Revali’s opinion. “Oh, right,” He says and watches Link sign to Colly. “Uh, he says it’s nice to meet you, I think. You have a beautiful village… And he wishes… uh, sorry, no. He hopes? He hopes that he’s not… cutting something? Oh, oh! Interrupting.”

“Oh, I,” Colly smooths her hands over the front of her dress, sounding bashful. “Well, I thought. The Elder can be longwinded. I was thinking if he and Link were still speaking, Revali and I might catch the sunset.” She looks hopeful and honestly quite beautiful as she looks up at Revali through long eyelashes. “I’ve missed you terribly.”

Oh. Oh dear.

There is no way Link would understand the more subtle implications of such an invitation, from a young, single, and beautiful Rito hen to a handsome, strong, impeccable specimen of a Rito Champion such as himself. Although he’s sure Link could guess, based on the tone she used. He sees Link raise his hands, has no time to peek at his expression, and quickly grabs them both in his. “Actually, uh,” He stammers. “Link has just come from Gerudo Town. A rather long trip for Hylians. On top of being within ten feet of my father. He must be about to drop dead. I should get him settled in his room.”

He doesn’t offer to reschedule. If Colly notices, she doesn’t mention it. Perhaps she bought his excuse – none if it was a lie after all – and gives them both a neutral smile as she bids them goodnight. Link waits for her to be out of eyesight down the steps before he turns to Revali with an incredibly good kicked puppy expression.

_I’m sorry. I don’t mean to be a burden._

Revali shakes his head. “Don’t be dumb, Link. If I had wanted to go, I would have left you in a heartbeat. No offense. Colly is a dear friend. But only that.”

Link nods, but still looks dejected. Revali wonders if Colly has given him the wrong impression about their relationship. Link signs hesitantly. _You two. Good together._

You’ve never even met her, Revali wants to say. But he also wants to admit that Link is right. It would be a transparent lie to say he hadn’t considered it. Colly is a beautiful, strong woman in her own right. She would love, scold, and better Revali as a warrior and Rito. But she deserves the same worship, and Revali has never imagined himself being capable. Or worthy.

“Thank you,” Revali says, and leaves it at that. “Shall I show you to a bed?”

Link nods rather enthusiastically at that and motions for him to lead the way.

“It’s a bit cramped with the bed,” Revali starts once they've bettered his roost, but is interrupted by Link who brushes past him, lets his pack fall to the floor with a resounding thud, and throws himself bodily onto the mattress. “I hope you don’t mind.” He finishes with a smile.

Link rolls over onto his stomach, although it seems to take Lynel strength, and shakes his head with a dopey smile on his face. He splays his arms and legs in all direction as he peers out the surrounding windows. Revali had worried that he wouldn't be able to see Link sign at night, but with the sun creeping below the horizon and the moon soon to apear, he can still see Link clearly sign, _It's_ _perfect_.

“Good,” Revali stops around the bed to light a single candle on his desk before settling into his hammock, sitting up sideways to watch Link and the setting sun behind him. “I hope it is not too bright for you to sleep at night. I know how you Hylians love your walls and windows with curtains.”

Link shakes his head. He doesn’t even open his eyes as he signs back. _Where I grew up, there was no night. Just less bright day._

Revali swings his leg a bit to rock himself in the hammock as he tries to think of the last time Link mentioned his home. When traveling with companions from all corners of Hyrule, not a day passed without someone bringing up their homesickness. Except Link, who Revali now knows is just as talkative as the rest of them.

“Where are you from?” Revali asks. “Castletown?”

Link opens his eyes, but doesn’t look at Revali. Instead, he is eyeing the ceiling with a mix of emotions playing out on his face. Revali thinks he can pick out confusion, hesitation, and maybe worry. Eventually, Link shakes his head and sits up. Looking around, he spots the desk and crawls across the bed to reach for a pencil and pad of paper. He settles back into the bed, on an edge closer to where Revali hangs in the hammock.

 _It’s a secret_ , Link signs.

Revali waits for Link to say something else. When he doesn’t, he replies, “I can keep a secret." Only minorly offended that Link needed verbal confirmation of his trustworthiness. He even holds out his pinky, to which Link smiles and responds in kind. Once the promise has been made, Link takes up the pencil and paper.

“You can write?” Revali asks rather dumbly, but can’t help his surprise. That was dumb. Of course he can write.

Link snorts and doesn't bother looking up. Revali supposes that writing isn’t the most efficient form of communication. He writes quickly, and when Link holds up the paper for Revali to see the words, his first thought is that Link’s handwriting is laughably messy, and the letters dark and thick, as if Link wielded the pencil with the same ferocity he wields his sword. It takes him a couple reads to actually absorb the words.

**I was raised by the Great Deku Tree and the Korok children. I grew up in Korok Village in The Lost Woods.**

Revali looks between Link and the paper a few times. Sits and ponders. Looks back to Link, whose face is as neutral as it was when they first met.

“Excuse me?” He can’t think of anything else to say.

Link rolls his eyes and gives the notepad a shake, as if every question Revali has ever had about anything could be answered by those two sentences. As if Revali is dumb for not being able to wrap his head around this.

“I have many questions.” He deadpans in reply.

Link frowns but motions with his hand for him to go ahead.

“Let’s see, in order that they come to mind.” Revali starts counting them off on his fingers. “You’re saying that your father is an old god, like Hylia.”

Link shrugs and scribbles something quickly; **more like an emissary/guardian.**

“Okay, that really just breeds more questions.” Link gives Revali an exasperated look, but he ignores it and moves ahead with his inquiries. “You’re not a small tree person.”

Link chooses to sign his response to this for the sake of getting through all of Revali’s questions sometime this night. _Not my father father. Raised me._

“Right. Still Hylian and whatnot.” Revali has seen one Korok in his entire life, which is considered less likely than waking up one day to the see the sky raining silver rupees. He had been a fledgling still, skulking through tall grass catching Hot Footed Frogs when it happened. He must have snuck up on it, because after rolling a small rock a Korok appeared in a blast of smoke and sparkling leaves. The Korok (and Revali, but he doesn’t tell that part of the story) both shrieked, and with another puff of smoke and more sparkles, it was gone. Most people don't even believe the story when he tells it; Everyone has heard of it, a secret place within the Lost Woods that was guarded by the Great Deku Tree, a being of such ancient and powerful magic that not even Calamity Ganon could enter. The Royal Family was not even allowed inside. The place was real alright, but because the inside had never been seen, many thought the Deku Tree and his children were myth.

“Maybe you should. Uh.” He motions to Link’s notepad. “Maybe you should just write it all out. I’ll wait.”

Link does just that, and he certainly takes his time to write out an explanation that amounts to not a whole lot of explaining. He pauses repeatedly, scribbling out and rewriting a few words. Revali wonders what parts he’s editing out. Finally, Link passes him the notepad.

**I was born at the end of the Hyrulean Civil War. My mother was badly wounded so she went to the Lost Forest seeking sanctuary. The Koroks brought her to the Great Deku Tree and he agreed to raise me. She died from her wounds that night. I was a baby. Know nothing about my father.**

“I’m sorry,” Revali says, and passes the notepad back. He remembers hearing that phrase, countless apologies when his parents died, and he remembers it meaning absolutely nothing to him. But what else is there to say. It feels uncomfortable and wrong for Link to be forcing such a tragic past into clipped sentences with a neutral face. 

Link nods in thanks.

“So how did you end up here, then? Hyrule, Zelda, the Master Sword?” Revali waits for Link to write out his response again. The sun has set and the moon hides behind clouds, so the only light in his small home is the small candle and what the torches burning outside provide. He takes this moment to admire Link, armed with this new knowledge of his past. He wonders who else knows and why it’s a secret. He wonders what Link means, when he said Korok Village never knew night. What had he been like as a child? Was that the reason he was mute now? Has he always looked this soft and beautiful, bathed in dim firelight? Revali doesn’t even notice how much time has passed when Link hands him back the notepad.

**The Great Deku Tree took me in because he sensed I had a destiny. He was the guardian of the Master Sword. It slept in the forest. When I was able to draw it from the seal, he knew for sure. He told me to take it and find Impa and Purah in Kakariko Village. They would know the sword and take me to Hyrule Castle to meet the King.**

“How old were you?” Revali asked. “When you left?”

 _Young_. _A child,_ Link signs. Revali isn’t surprised that he would so casually have ventured out of the Lost Woods, a place no species in all of Hyrule has successfully entered before, and travelled across the continent to Kakariko Village as a child. Wonders never cease that Link has somehow lived to the ripe old age of…of...

“Link, how old _are_ you?”

Link bites the inside of his cheek while he thinks. Eventually he signs, _Maybe seventeen or eighteen. Impossible to know._

Sounds about right, Revali figures. People argue endlessly over when the Hyrulean Civil War actually ended; some are still fighting it. And with no way of knowing how old Link was when he mother found the Lost Forest, “You really don’t know anything about yourself?” Revali asks quietly.

_I know that my mother named me Link and I was born to fight Ganon._

Link seems to have said his piece. He takes the notepad and rips off the pages he wrote on, including a few sheets beneath them. He sets the pad and pencil on the desk before holding the used pieces over the candle. Revali watches silently as Link waits for the pages to be almost entirely engulfed in flame before he lets them slips from his fingers, carried by the wind out over Lake Totori, never to be read again. 

Link returns to the bed where he lays back with a sigh of contentment and closes his eyes. The world seems to pick right back up again, as if the conversation had never happened.  _I know that my mother named me Link and I was born to fight Ganon._ Revali can’t think of anything to reply with – Link had said it (signed it, whatever) as if he’d heard it every day of his life. As if he honestly believed that the world owed him nothing more than a name and an enemy. Not a family or a home or a place to claim heritage to. Revali doesn’t know where he’d be without the village and the Elder.

You deserve more, he wants to say. I want to give you more.

But instead he asks, “So you have brothers and sisters then?”

Link smiles but doesn’t open his eyes. _More than nine hundred._

Eventually Link worms his way under the bed sheets and dozes off, leaving Revali to churning thoughts that won’t let him sleep just yet. He lays back in his hammock, rocking himself by swinging his legs as he contemplates Link. The way his golden hair falls around his face, or the way he looks much too young when he’s asleep.


	11. Chapter 11

Revali doesn’t remember nodding off, but it’s early morning when he wakes to the sound of morning birds and Link’s light breathing. Everything about him is so quiet, Revali might worry he’d died in the night if he couldn’t see his chest gently rise with every breath. He rubs sleep from his eyes, finding himself much better rested than he was the day before. The sun is just rising, perhaps six or seven in the morning, so Revali carefully walks around the edge of the bed so that he doesn’t wake Link.

The Elder is sitting in one of his rocking chairs on the flight deck at the bottom of the wood stairs and walkway that lead down from Revali’s home. He doesn't know how the old bird does it, always waking up before him. Maybe he sleeps in there in his chair, just for the dramatic effect the next morning. Revali considers gliding off the cliff to escape the inevitable conversation for now, but his father has a bowl of fresh wildberries in his lap, ripe and pink and plump. It gets Revali every time, so he sits down on the floor next to his father with a pointed look and swipes the entire bowl while he’s at it.

“I’m not a hatchling anymore,” Revali says around mouthfuls of wildberry. “You do not need to interview all of my friends.”

The Elder seems to take this under very serious, very sarcastic consideration. “Agreed. But I will make a point of knowing the special ones.”

Revali turns this over in his head while he picks through the bowl of wildberries, trying to pick out the biggest and sweetest. He doesn’t mind the thought of Link being more than a friend. Which is a long way from where they started.

As if reading his mind, the Elder wonders aloud, “To think, the last time you stood here, the mere sight of young master Link had your feathers in a ruffle.”

Revali doesn’t reply to that either. Instead he pops a few berries in his mouth, chewing them thoughtfully. He turns to the horizon, towards the white-capped mountains that nestle the Flight Range. The Elder doesn’t say anything more, and so minutes pass in comfortable silence.

“I’m going to ask him to see the sunset tonight on the roost. He mentioned it a long time ago, but he doesn’t know what it means.”

Despite the number of senile jokes Revali makes about his father, the Elder does not miss a beat. “Does it bother you, to think that he would still go with you even if he knew what it meant?”

“You can’t know that,” Revali grumbles and returns his full attention to picking at the selection of wildberries. “I haven’t decided if I’ll tell him.” He doesn't know if he's referring to his feelings or the sunset. Could be either, he supposes.

The Elder affords him a few moments of content silence where Revali tries to focus on the passing clouds. He’s missed this, the slow pace of the village. Hyrule Castle, the other Champions, their everyday is full of the hustle and bustle of impending doom. Revali has not forgotten Calamity Ganon. But it does his heart good to be back in Rito Village, taking a moment to breath in the fresh air and smell of the lake.

“I mean no offense, but I never imagined you married.” His father says out of nowhere. 

Revali clicks his beak but doesn’t bother arguing. He can’t say that he’s ever seriously considered the idea, but he’s also never met a hen or a cock he could imagine spending the rest of his life with. Link, though. Surprisingly, the idea sits rather warmly in his stomach. It feels right to imagine. Not growing old together, but rather spending their years adventuring. Slaying monsters, honing their skills and maybe someday having a home. Somewhere new to the both of them.

A few more minutes pass before Link appears on the stairs, having correctly guessed where to find Revali. He’s still fiddling with his leather belt and the Sheikah Slate when he catches sight of them and comes over.

“He says good morning,” Revali translates for his father.

“Good morning to you.” The Elder says in a loud, happy voice. “I hope you slept well in the mess that Revali calls a home.”

Link nods vigorously, looks around uncertainly of what to do or where to sit. Revali gently pats the spot next to him, worn, smooth wood that’s been warmed by the sun. Link takes it gladly, and the Elder magically produces a second, smaller bowl of wildberries to hand to Link. He ever so graciously lets Revali take a few, then pops one n his mouth, his eyes widening in surprise. He turns to the Elder and starts signing in between stuffing his mouth with berries. A surprising positive aspect to being a mute.

“He says they’re delicious,” Revali translates, feeling warmth in his chest from Link’s enthusiasm. “Much sweeter than he’s ever had.” He turns to Link to explain, “It’s because they were picked yesterday. Not a week ago and brought in by a Rito trader.”

“And I saved the last for you,” The Elder informs Link happily. Link looks ready to apologize, mouth full of the last of the berries from the bowl, but the Elder smiles and pats him on the head with a soft but heavy wing as he does with everyone in the village. “The weather on the mountains is expected to be nasty today, no good for flying. If Revali didn't eat them like a little pig I would be able to offer you more.”

“I beg your pardon,” Revali shoots him accusatory look. “Where do you imagine I learned this love for wildberries?”

The Elder gives Link an innocent look before he slaps his knees and hoists himself out of the chair to the symphony of popping joints. “Well, if you’ll pardon. Many Elderly duties that need attending. Should I expect either of you for dinner?”

“No,” Revali says slowly, wondering if this is his father giving him an opportunity. Which, judging by that smirk, would be a yes. “I thought Link and I might take an early dinner and climb the roost in time for the sunset.” He eyes Link out of his periphery, watching for a reaction even if Link doesn’t fully understand what it means.

He’s met with nothing but happy nods and frantic signing of _yes_ and _please_! And a smile that makes him feel warm and gold all over.

* * *

Link is popular in Rito Village, particularly now that he isn’t a silent guardian at the Princess’s side. He is very popular. Painstakingly, horribly, unfairly popular. It drives Revali up the wall, to a perfect height for pelting greedy hens with pebbles. 

While he finds he’s grown fond of Link, he recognizes another part of him that resents how foolish their bond makes him act.

So no matter how much he desires to, Revali stays his hand, and instead trails behind Link as he is whisked around the village by women and children alike. The children want to see the sword that seals the darkness, want to see him practice his swings. The hens want something similar, although for much different reasons. So Revali grinds his beak and waits for Link to tire of the villager’s attention. And although Revali is sharp enough to see that Link doesn’t love the affection the women fawn on him, he’s too nice to walk away, and so both Champions fake smiles.

Revali doesn’t mean for the day to slip by like this, admiring Link like one of the regular hens of the village. But even if he doesn’t speak, Revali finds himself lost in watching Link dote on the children, clapping to their songs and sharing in their lunches. Before he knows it, the day is almost entirely gone. He catches Link’s attention and gives their new friends a half baked excuse about pressing Champion matters. In reality, he whisks Link away for a quick early dinner of rice balls and hearty salmon. Link is sitting on his bed as he eats, a space that he uses as both a bed, table, and lounging chair.

S _unset soon?_ Link signs after sucking a few grains of rice off his thumbs.

“Yes,” Revali takes their plates and sets them on his desk, makes a mental note to clean them later even if he’s sure he’ll forget. “We can take our time, though. It’ll only take us a minute to fly up.”

_No flying_ Link signs happily. _I can climb!_

“You sure?” Revali cocks a head at Link who’s started rifling through his backpack. “It’s a very difficult climb. Not a lot of footholds, and it’s a straight up incline.”

Link is nodding, probably not even listening, when he finally produces what he wanted from his pack. It’s a bundle of clothing, folded together and tied with twine. Revali imagines Zelda folding and tying it, reminding him to drink plenty of water and be on his best behavior. It makes him smile as Link starts unfolding the clothes, revealing a red bandana, a blue sleeveless tunic and green tights, cut short after the knee.

_Wear for climbing,_ Link explains, laying out the clothes that Revali now sees are quite form fitting. He grabs the hem of his blue Champion's tunic, dragging it up his chest and over his head to drop on the bed. _I think I could do it. Do we have time?_

Revali thinks he makes some dumb sound of confirmation as he watches Link change clothes with some degree of difficulty. They’re seriously tight, meant for serious rock climbing. _Z got them for my birthday_ , Link signs as he finally gets the tight fitting shirt adjusted correctly across his chest, and reaches for his pants next.

“Right, well,” Revali mumbles, eyes downcast as he listens to Link unbuckling his pants. “I’ll meet you outside.” It’s not like Revali hasn’t seen Link down to his undergarments before. But when the manner is life threatening, he finds himself suddenly bashful. Resenting the heat rising in his own cheeks, he walks outside the house until he can’t hear the sound of Link changing anymore.

“Revali!”

Colly is coming down the boardwalk, a basket fish in her arms and a fishing harpoon slung over her deceptively delicate shoulder. “I’m glad I caught you. Can I interest you in some salmon or bass? Had an excellent haul today.”

“Thank you, but I’ve just eaten." He eyes the haul of fish in her basket, "What would this village do without you.”

“Starve,” Colly muses thoughtfully with a certain amount of pride that Revali can relate to. “But tell me. What does the Rito Champion have planned for the night that he would prefer over spicy seafood curry?”

Revali feels his feathers ruffling slightly in embarrassment. “Well. I am going to, uh,” He looks down, stuffs his hands into the pockets of his tunic. “I am. Taking Link up to the roost. To see the sunset.”

“Oh,” Cally says quietly, tilts her head and peeks at Revali’s face, which is purposefully pointed in any direction away from hers. “Oh.” She says much more certainly and salaciously. One more time, “ _Oh_.”

“Don’t.” he pleads. How humiliating. A Rito like Revali should never be reduced to begging.

“I am so sorry,” Colly says, reaching out and putting a hand on his arm. “I- I had no idea that you two were together like that. Oh, goodness,” She puts her hand to her face to try and hide her embarrassment. “I asked you to see the sunset right in front of him, too! Oh, Goddess, I hope he doesn't hate me.” She grinds her beak nervously. “I swear, Revali. Had I known about you two, I never would have." 

“He doesn’t hate you. I don’t think Link is capable of hate.” He offers. “Besides.  We're not a 'two'. We're just friends. He doesn’t know what it means. The roost. The sunset.”

“Oh,” Colly says again, which Revali is starting to find frustrating as the meaning of the word changes each time. “Do you intend to tell him tonight?”

Revali leans against the nearby railing and folds his arms, contemplates the idea. “I don’t know.” He shrugs, not even bothering trying to deny that the attraction was there. 

“What do you feel?”

“My feelings are clear.” Revali shrugs again.

She cocks her head at Revali in a way that reminds him of his father. "And do you know his?" 

"How Link feels does not influence me." Revali snorts. "I am no coward. I will confess my feelings regardless, and I'd hope he respects me enough to answer honestly. If he denies me, then I will sleep well enough without regret."

"And if he says yes?"

Revali laughs at Colly's optimism. “Let's burn that bridge when we come to it, aye? We each have our places. Mine here, and his with the Princess Zelda. For now. Yet even then, who am I to pursue a love when war looms at our doorstep?”

Colly thinks on that, her fingers fiddling with the fraying edges of the basket in her hands. She doesn’t look at him when she says, gently, “Forgive me for thinking so, but is that not all the more reason to tell him how you feel while you can?”

Before Revali can reply with another question or excuse Colly has turned her attention to something behind him. “Good evening, Link.”

Link greets her with a smile, but Revali can see in his eyes that he’s hesitant, probably entertaining the same notion that he’d interrupted some sort of intimate moment. Colly seems to notice as well and casts Revali an apologetic look before she begs her leave. Revali watches her go a little longingly, thinking how much easier it would be if he could force himself to love Colly for all her perfections.

It does not, however, stop him from turning to Link to give him an appreciative once over. The clothes are indeed tight. Revali knew Link had an excellent form, but something about the way he wore his climbing set and how the armholes of the tunic were cut dangerously low on his flank...

"It looks good,” Revali says half honestly. Half, because there are many other words he would use before _good_ , but Link’s cheek are already turning an endearing shade of pink at the attention. “Are you ready?”

Link smiles and clenches his fists, showing off the leather grips of the gloves that come halfway up his fingers. Impeccable design and stitching, Revali notes. The kid might just pull this off.

_You’ll catch me if I fall, right?_

“Please,” Revali scoffs as he leads the way to the uppermost deck of Rito Village. “What sort of Hero would you be if you fell like that?”

_A pancake Hero_. Revali is always amazed at how much sass Link can put into his signs.

“Well, here it is.” Revali announces when they reach the tallest part of Rito Village. He can see the top, and could be there in less than a minute on his wings. “I’ll be sure to fly close to you,” Revali can hear Link pacing back and forth behind him, examining the rock from all possible angles. “But I’ll have to circle a fair amount, so yell if you’re about to fall to your untimely death.”

Link nods and approaches the base of the roost. It’s a long ways to the top for someone without wings, and the climb is far from easy. The roost is made up of smooth rock that comes to peak in the vague shape of a bird’s head. Legend says that the rock is smooth because at some point in time long before Hyrule it was submerged in Totori Lake. The Goddess Hylia bid the waters shape the rock into a bird. And when it was finished, she drained the lake and left the roost as a gift for her Rito children. Revali is rather fond of that story, even more so now as he tries to examine the roost from a Hylian perspective.

Link walks up to the rock and brushes it with his fingertips as if appreciating it. He walks the length of the deck two more times, tracing it with his fingers before he finds a handhold that he deems suitable. With one grip, he pulls himself upwards into a jump, and he’s already a few feet up when he grabs with his other hand and starts climbing.

Link climbs slowly but surely, eventually picking up speed as he grows more confident. Revali circles him closely. The climb is as difficult as to be expected, and he has his fair share of close calls and near slips. Whenever Link finds a stable enough foothold he’ll alternate shaking out his fingers, giving Revali an optimistic thumbs up. Sometimes Link will stop climbing, examine the rock above him, and start moving sideways instead. In what Revali counts as a saintly act of patience, he does not yell at Link to hurry up, or swoop down to grab him with his talons and just carry him to the top.

“At this rate, you’ll arrive just in time for tomorrow’s sunset!” Revali calls to him from the top where he has seated himself on the edge a few feet up from Link. He thinks he hears a frustrated grunt in response.

The sky is just turning a burning shade of peach when Link finally gets one hand over the top. Revali scoots over slightly as the second hand makes it, and finally the top of Link’s head. He watches as Link hauls himself up and over, landing nearly on his face with a whoosh of air that’s knocked from his lungs. Revali thinks about helping, maybe yanking him up by the cloth of that very, very tight tunic. But he's already come this far on his own power. Link manages to flip himself over, throwing out his arms to either side with his legs still dangling over the edge. His muscles are shaking, his breathing heavy, and the tips of his fingers are raw and bloody. But there is a smile on his face of sheer joy in the face of success, and Revali knows Link would choose the hard way every time.

“Come on,” Revali reaches down, cups Link under his armpits, and drags him into a sitting position against his side. “I won’t have you being tossed over the edge by strong winds after all that time I spent waiting for you.”

Link laughs and seems to have no choice but to let Revali drag him towards the beak end of the roost’s head. His legs are shaking, and Revali wonders how on Earth he’s going to get Link back down to the village if he isn’t strong enough to hold onto his back as he flies him down.

Could always just toss him over the edge and hope for the best, Revali considers.

Once Revali gets them both seated safely away from any edges he takes Link’s hands in his to inspect the damage. He had expected much worse, to be honest. But nonetheless, his fingers are torn and oozing blood where the gloves don’t reach, smeared with dirt in such a filthy way that it makes Revali cringe. “Here,” He reaches into his pack and pulls out a single water canteen. “Gonna sting,” He comments as if Link doesn't already know that. He pours the water over Link’s hands, who cringes but doesn’t let out a single sound. When the cuts are adequately cleaned, Revali grips the edge of his own tunic and gives it a good yank, tearing off a sizable bit of cloth. Of course, rather than being impressed by the show of strength, Link starts shaking his head and waving his hands to stop him.

“Relax, it’s an old tunic anyway.” Revali scoffs and starts tearing the cloth into smaller strips. “Already ripped it anyhow. Just let me bandage the cuts that are still bleeding.”

_Under protest,_ Link signs, but holds out his fingers for Revali to gently weave the strips of cloth around.

“We would have missed it, had you gone any slower.” Revali nods towards the sun, which is just approaching the mountain range in the distance. “You’ve made your point, I’m flying us up from now on.”

Link rolls his eyes but doesn’t argue. Instead he takes in the scenery around them, twisting his torso around to scan the vast lands of Hyrule that stretch out far beyond what their eyes can see. _Beautiful,_ he signs, turning back to smile at Revali when his hands are finally free.

Yeah, you are.

“The only thing missing is wildberries,” Revali says instead. His life is a vicious cycle of gorging on wildberries until they’re gone and he never wants to see one again, just to find himself craving them ten minutes later.

Link simply nods, his eyes never leaving the horizon.

“So,” Revali clears his throat. “How are you liking Rito Village?”

_I like it very much. Everyone is nice, and the food is good._

“You’re not sick of us already?” Revali tries to add as casually as possible, “Do you miss Zelda and Mipha yet?”

Link quirks an eyebrow at the odd question, and Revali curses himself on the inside. “I mean, Hyrule Castle is basically your home right? And you spend a lot of time in Zora’s Domain?” He says as if it will cover his floundering. Idiot, Revali chides himself; I suppose I should be the one taking the flying leap home.

_I guess I have many homes,_ Link signs. _I have a house in Hateno Village, too._

“What?” Revali cocks his head, certain he’s misunderstood a sign along the way. “Like, a house? With walls and a roof?”

Link laughs and nods. _Impa and Purah are like mothers to me. Purah’s lab is in Hateno Village. They bought me a house, says everyone should have one. It's empty except for a wall mount, pretty depressing place._

_"_ Wow,” Revali breathes, for some reason unable to picture Link as a responsible homeowner, building furniture on his lazier days and tending to a garden in his front yard. “Next thing I know, you’re going to have a secret wife and kids, too.”

Link’s cheeks start to burn at the thought and Revali finds a dangerous but necessary surge of confidence within himself. _No, no,_ Link signs quickly. _No time_.

“Oh,” Revali notes lightly, aware that he’s treading shaky ground here. “No time? So there is someone, just no time for playing house?”

Link’s face is turning scarlet as Revali speaks and he quickly turns away from him to examine the beginning of the sunset. He alternates between shaking his head and shrugging his shoulders, flapping one hand as if to physically shoo the conversation.

“Link,” He says slowly, and Hyrule’s Hero turns to him ever so slightly, just enough to be watching him out of the corner of his eye. “I…”

I wish it were me? I wish you would give me a chance, to let it be me? I want to court you? I can prove to you that I am worthy of being your husband? I love you?

“I, uh. I wish we had wildberries. Is all.”

Link, who normally shows his heart in his eyes, doesn’t make any obvious expression. Only nods, perhaps smiles gently. Revali is too focused on the sinking feeling in his gut to really dissect the situation. And trying to hide his face in shame. 

Champion of the Rito indeed.

Revali steels himself, however. Swears on his bow that he will have his say by the end of the night. Perhaps after the sun has finished setting, after he’s had proper time to think. Yes, Revali tells himself. No reason to rush.

He is pondering how to salvage the conversation when it happens. Again.

Revali knows the sound seconds after it starts, and despite knowing that it can't be stopped and that Link has no control over it, he immediately reaches for his hand, yelling, “Link, no! Stop!”

Link already has the Slate in his hands, turning it over with wide panicked eyes as if this time it will have a big red off switch that wasn’t there before. The blue is already starting to choke his body, halting him in time as the energy starts to thrum and bits of him are being pulled to the sky.

Again, Revali feels Link’s hand buzzing in his before it’s slowly pulled from between his fingers. Link is looking at him, body frozen a few feet in the air still half-sitting like had been a minute ago. And just as it did before, it slowly disappeared into the sky.                  

“Link!” Revali stands up and whirls in every direction, straining his ears and eyes to pick up any sound or sight of the energy that stole him away. “Link, can you hear me?"

He doesn’t notice at the time, but one of the most beautiful sunsets Revali has ever seen starts then.

"LINK!"


	12. Chapter 12

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I apologize for the long break in chapters. I had to leave town unexpectedly, so I am a bit behind in writing as well as updating... Thanks for being patient!

Revali has the village on alert within seconds. He ends up taking a flying leap off the roost after all, stopping first by the Elder’s hut to alert his father. Second, he finds the captain of the guard, who instructs all the other soldiers and villagers to be on the lookout for strange sounds or Link. “He’s disappeared,” is the only explanation Revali can offer, seeing as that’s all he knows himself.

“He’ll be okay, we’ll find him.” Colly tells him with absolute certainty before taking to the skies to scour the waters below, quickly turning black in the encroaching night.

Revali takes to the sky as well, circling the village with a few other Rito. He’s wracking his head, trying to remember what Zelda had said so long ago in her study. Something about the Slate having locations, places to travel to. But because those destinations were dormant, it was directionless. Unpredictable.

Incredibly, life threateningly, stupidly dangerous.

Revali curses himself and the Six Sages of old. Why had he ever let Link hold on to that thing. They knew nothing about it, he could be anywhere in Hyrule right now. He could be outside Hyrule, he could be in an ocean, eaten by Lizalfos. He could be rolling down the side of a mountain, he could have been killed by a Lynel by now. It had been what, ten minutes? An hour? The chances that Link was still in the are was remote at best and –

“Revali!”

It’s Colly’s voice, and Revali stops to land on a nearby rock as she makes her way to him, speeding downwards from the village. “What is it?” He asks when she lands next to him.

“I don’t know,” Colly puffs out, breathless. “Not for sure. I thought I saw a fire and smoke near the flight range. But I couldn’t get closer with the wind.”

"The flight range?”

“Yes. It can’t be a Rito. The Elder forbade us from flying out today because of the weather in the area, but-”

Revali is in the air again before Colly can finish. It registers somewhere in the back of his head that she’s calling to him, asking him to wait and be smart, but his wings and muscles and every fiber of his being is already pumping up and up and up.

Once he’s high enough, Revali picks out the small glow of orange and red with ease. Just east, a few mountain tops to the left of the flight range. It’s a weak flame. Revali knows the area, only because there are a few wildberry bushes that he picks, but otherwise there isn't much else there besides one or two dead trees at this time of year. Nothing but snow and cold. Revali thinks of what Link was wearing when he disappeared, and draws forth extra energy to pump his wings, bad flight weather be damned.

He’s the Champion of the Rito, for Hylia’s sake. What's the use, if not now?

Because of the harsh winds, Revali finds himself zigzagging to reach the small fire in the mountains, and he damsn every second of it. It takes him perhaps twice as long to cross Lake Totori as it normally would, time that he most certainly does not have to waste. He’s hardly dressed for the snow, and when the cold hits him, he’s aware that it hits hard, but the pain and chill doesn’t register in his mind. Every part of him is focused on that small light that slowly grows in his vision. Wind and snow bat at his eyes, but when he’s finally close enough to see that yes, it is Link curled up next to the fire, he’s both comforted and hastened all at once.

It’s one of the most graceless landings Revali has ever made, and he sprays Link with snow as he makes it. But Link hardly seems bothered. Resourceful as ever, he’d managed to find a large rock to mostly protect him from the wind. A few branches that he seems to have broken into bits with his bare hands are what fuel the fire. Finally, Link managed to clear away enough snow next to the fire for him to pile the rest of the twigs and sit on top of. Not comfortable, but at least it's one layer between him and the heat-sucking ground. He must have seen Revali coming, because slowly but surely he’d hoisted himself into a sitting ball, shivering and blue from the cold but alive.

“Sweet Goddess above,” Revali whispers to himself as he throws both arms around Link. “You idiot, are you hurt?” He holds Link at arms length to assess the damage.

 _No,_ the sign is weak, the fingers stiff. _Cold._

“Right, okay,” The kid feels like ice to Revali. “Are you strong enough to hold onto me? The winds are bad, it’s going to be bumpy. Especially with a passenger.”

It must truly speak to how weak Link is becoming when he simply nods without telling Revali to save himself, that it’s too dangerous to carry someone. He uncurls and stands grudgingly, his entire body shaking, already weak from the effort it took to the climb the roost and now to stave off hypothermia and unconsciousness.

Revali turns and guides Link’s hands around his neck from behind. Tries not to outwardly wince when Link presses up against him like an ice block.

“I’m going to have to use Revali’s Gale to get us started,” Revali says to him as he kneels down, mentally preparing himself. “I’ve never done this with another person, much less in this kind of weather. No matter what happens, just don’t let go.”

Link makes a pathetic sounding whimper that could mean any number of things. All of which Revali probably sympathizes with.

“Don’t worry,” Revali says as he eyes the skies, watching the way the snow is blown on the wind and waiting for just the right moment. “I’m the Champion of the Rito, after all.” He adds, before bursting mustering what energy he has left for his gale.

* * *

 

The flight back is hard. There’s no better description for it, it was simply hard. It passed surprisingly quickly for Revali, whose sole focus was on the wind currents and trying not to be shaken so hard that Link slipped off his back. But the hands on his shoulders were firm, almost death like in their grip. After Revali cleared the mountains and the worst of the snow and storm, Colly came to meet him, her eyes full of equal parts anger and worry.

“He’s just cold,” Revali yells to her above the wind as she sweeps above him, checking on Link.

“I’ll let everyone know,” She yells back as the lights from Rito Village become clearer. “I think we have some spicy seafood curry left over from dinner.”

“Perfect,” Revali feels the knot in his chest slowly starting to unwind. “I’m bringing him to my roost.”

“Affirmative,” Colly shoots ahead, much faster without a passenger. She steers downwards, towards the kitchens to look for the spice and start telling the villagers Link has been found. Revali watches her go, keen eyes following the pastel pink of her feathers in the distance. Thanks Hylia for her.

“We’re almost there!” Revali calls over his shoulder, and he think he feels Link’s grip on his feathers tighten in response. They’re in a much warmer area now, but for Link, who is wet with snow in his sleeveless tunic and cropped tights, the windchill from flying is still taking its toll. Revali catches the next updraft that takes him towards his roost in the village.

“Here we go,” Revali says once he reaches the boardwalk just outside his roost. Colly is already there, waiting for Revali to make a stable enough landing so she can slide Link off his back.

Rito are overall much larger than Hylians, but she still seems surprised by how light Link is in her arms as she steadies him on his feet. “He’s still so cold.”

Link lets an unintelligible grunt slip past his blue lips.

“Bring him inside,” Revali goes first, seeing a small bowl of the spicy seafood curry over rice on his desk. Again, he thanks Hylia for gifting him Colly and her swift thinking. As she half drags half carries Link inside, Revali swallows two large spoonfulls of the curry. It burns his throat ad his eyes threaten to water, but soon warmth settles in his bellow, slowly spreading through his extremities.

“What should we do?” Colly asks worriedly as she starts lowering Link onto the bed. Hypothermia isn’t a common problem in Rito Village, where even the smallest fledglings are well insulated by their downy feathers.

“I know what to do,” Revali tells her, fighting back a groan. He starts unclasping the buckles of his belt, shucking off his tunic as a hint.

“Oh,” Colly says in a voice that means her cheeks are turning pink under her feathers. “I, uh.”

“Let the Elder know he’s okay.” Revali pulls off his Champion’s scarf and sets it in a messy pile on his desk. “And if you could ask the villagers for some privacy.”

“Right, yes. Privacy. Of course.”

“Colly!” Revali calls out just as she’s leaving. “Thank you. I worry what would have happened to Link without your sharp eye.”

Colly seems taken by surprise, and stops in place. Revali had imagined this scenario plenty of times; Himself and Colly in his bedroom in varying stages of undress. He’d just never thought it would be under such circumstances. It strikes him, how far off course his life has gone in the past few years.

“You’re welcome,” Colly says in a way that sounds like _I love you._

Revali watches her go across the boardwalk and down the stairs to the main part of the village without looking back. He feels a pang of guilt in his gut, for his friend who he wishes the best for. Wishes he could provide her just that, but knows it would be a cruelty if not entirely sincere.

Link coughs a few times from the bed, and Revali is snapped back to reality. Without any hesitation this time, he starts tugging at Link’s clothing. First he unhooks his leather belt, tearing the infernal Slate from his hip and throwing it clear across the room. Albeit not very far, he feels better for doing so. He takes off the red bandana, and struggles for a good few minutes with the tightness of the tunic and leggings. He considers slicing them with a dagger, but remembers they were a birthday gift and stays his hand. With much effort. Link’s clothes were already damp with sweat when he took his surprise tour of the mountain, and now they were even wetter from the snowfall. Revali peels them off with great difficulty, but thanks Hylia for small mercies when he finds that Link’s undergarments are more or less dry enough. Revali doesn't think he has it in him to peel them off anyway.

“I can’t believe you,” He tells Link as he gives him a good shake, just to make sure he hadn’t already died. “Once, fine.” He tugs Link off the bed long enough to throw back the blanket, drop him back on the mattress, climb down next to him, and throw the blanket over them both. “But twice? Hylia above if this becomes a habit I hope you get dropped onto the butt end of a Lynel.”

Link grunts something along the lines of _fine, whatever_ as he burrows into Revali’s body heat, burying his face in the soft feathers at his chest.

“You’re ridiculous.” Revali repeats for good measure. He turns sideways and is for once thankful for his small room as he reaches for the bowl of curry on his desk. “Here.” He gets out a spoonful of the sauce and some rice, trying to avoid the seafood chunks that he doesn’t want making a reappearance all over his floor if Link gets sick. He holds the spoon near Link’s face. And without even opening his eyes, the little brat has the gall to pinch his nose and shake his head.

“You little,” Revali moves the spoon closer, pressing it to Link’s closed lips. “It will warm you up. Eat.”

When it’s clear that Revali won’t let this go, Link eventually opens his mouth. He even manages to sit up a little so he doesn’t choke as he takes three small spoonfulls. Link groans as if he’s nearing death with each bite and when Revali finally relents he flops back down onto the bed with a sigh.

“I’ll just kill you myself.” Revali decides as he gently rubs heat into Link’s back. “Won't have to sit around and wait for it.”

Link nods as if he too sees the logic in that.

“I think you get into more trouble than Zelda.” Revali feels Link starting to heat up from a combination of the spicy curry and his own efforts. He takes comfort in knowing that the worst has passed (yet again), and lets his arm rest on Link’s side as they lay front to front. “You can’t do that again.” He eventually whispers.

Link opens his eyes but doesn’t make eye contact. Instead he raises a gentle finger to brush at Revali’s feathers. He barely nods.

“Link, you were incredibly lucky tonight and you still nearly died. The next time this happens you could end up in the ocean or the middle of the Gerudo wastelands.”

Another nod and still no eye contact. Revali sighs. “I’m not trying to yell at your or anything you know.” His hand somehow finds it’s way to Link’s hair, gently smoothing out the gold locks and wiping away melting snow. “I’m just worried. After all, I could have died trying to find you, Hylia forbid.”

He thinks he feels Link laugh against him. He squirms away slightly, no longer in Revali’s arms, to create enough space between them to bring up his hands. Link flexes his cold fingers, pops a few knuckles. Stiffly he signs, _How do you do it? Revali’s Gale?_

Revali considers saying something sassy, but Link makes a face like he would expect as much. “Well,” He clears his throat. “It’s not easy. It took me years to learn. And a lot of practice.”

 _But in the moment_. Link gently pushes himself up so he’s sitting. He lets Revali drape the blanket over his shoulders and grab his own from his hammock before continuing. _When you do it, how?_                  

“Well,” Revali gently clicks his beak as he thinks. What does he think of? “I’ve never really stopped to think about it. I guess… It used to take a lot more concentration, when I was first learning. How I imagined it would feel, how I’d catch the air. Now it’s more feeling than thinking. I can do it faster. I think about things that make me feel strong. Make me feel powerful enough to launch myself into the sky.”

Link nods to himself as he takes this under consideration. _What about tonight? Harder, with me on your back? What were you thinking?_

Revali can’t think of any sneaky lie on the spot, so he answers honestly, “I was thinking about you. How if I didn’t get you home you would die there. No one else would have been strong enough to fly in those winds, so I had to be.”

Link’s cheeks turn a bit pink, but he manages to keep his head from bursting into flame. He nods, more to himself than Revali as he chews his lip and thinks, gazing blankly in the direction of the mountains where Revali had found him.

“Why?”

_I think I can do it._

Revali arches an eyebrow at Link, who is sitting and smiling stupidly despite the blue tint in his lips. “Link, when I said we needed to get this under control, I meant more like put the Sheikah Slate in a drawer somewhere. Not mess around with it even more.”

Link shakes his head. _I can figure it out. Will you help me?_

Revali eyes Link’s face, the stubborn set of his jaw and the look of excitement in his eyes. He clicks his tongue, even rolls his eyes, but Link will not be deterred. He finally forfeits, “Under protest.”

Link beams like he’s won a war, as if there had ever been a chance of him losing. He makes a surprised face as if to say oh! before leaning over the bed to fish around for his pants, discarded somewhere on the floor. Revali watches as he tugs one of the small leather pouches free of the belt that he leaves looped around the pants. Looking entirely too pleased with himself, he offers the pouch to Revali, signing, _Found these for you on the mountain!_

Revali pops the cover open to find four wildberries inside.

Kaepora Gaebora, third of his name, is nearly the last of his name when he finally arrives to check on his son and Link, only to see Revali holding Hyrule’s nearly naked Hero above his head, threatening to throw him out the window of his roost.

Revali is banned from having any wildberries for the next month, but is steadfast in his refusal to apologize.


	13. Chapter 13

“Hold still… Tilt your head to the left. No, my left, idiot.” Revali clicks his beak and takes Link’s face in both hands, gently tilting his head to his satisfaction. “There. Now. Don’t. Move.”

 _Anything else I can do for you, your highness?_ Link signs, which is technically moving, but because his head is staying in place Revali decides not to pick that fight.

“Yes,” He deadpans. “Hold still and take it like an adult.” After a moment he adds for good measure, “If you mess this braid up one more time I will flip you like a Kakariko omelet.”

Link makes a face but continues holding still. _All seems excessive._

Revali grunts in reply as he picks up a half-spade shaped ruby to hold in his beak. They’d been at this the past ten minutes and Link is already getting antsy. He’s not one for idle lounging, which does not surprise Revali one bit. He’d finally gotten Link sitting down across from him on the flight deck, cross-legged and twitchy as he fiddles with Link’s hair.

“Excessive my tail feathers,” He mumbles around the ruby in his beak. “This is a gift from me to you and you’re going to wear it properly, you uncouth Bokoblin.” He takes the lock of hair that usually frames the right side of Link’s face and starts weaving a white ribbon in and out of it, which proves to be intricate and difficult work, none the easier thanks to Link. “For the love of Hylia, hold still!”

Link continues making a petulant pouty face, his cheeks puffed with frustration. Revali’s certain he would never give this sort of sass to Zelda. As he works on threading the ribbon through Link’s hair, he sees him sign out of the corner of his eye, _Weird._

_Don’t like wearing clothes made of baby Rito feathers._

“Its called Snowquill,” Revali informs him, trying to keep the frustration out of his voice as he has to redo the last bit of the braid. He won’t stand for sloppy work. Finally, he has the ribbon threaded in, out, and around the hair as he would like, so he holds it with one hand and takes the ruby into the other. Carefully, he ties the ruby off at the end to hand from the very bottom of the braid. He doesn’t bother trying to hide the look of success on his face as he takes Link’s chin in one hand, turning his head as he pleases to examine his excellent work. “Besides, the feathers were molted naturally and then treated and then sewn into the clothing. So it’s not weird. And you’ll darn well wear it if you want to play around with the Sheikah Slate. Zelda will have my tail if I let you freeze to death from your own idiocy, however powerful that force may be.”

Link makes a face like he wants to argue. Revali ignores it and picks up a second white ribbon. He’s careful not to tug the hair too hard as he gathers it up next to Link’s other cheek and begins braiding. “And consider this an honor. Snowquill has never been made for a Hylian before. I had this commissioned especially for you, by a close friend of mine.” He adds gently.

Revali knows he will never tire of the way Link’s face glows a soft pink at any semblance of compliment or gift. He feels the heat on his cheeks with the backs of his fingers as he finishes braiding the last lock of hair and ties the ruby to the end. He tries not to let it distract him. Fails to keep his fingers from lingering so gently against Link's cheek. 

Link has suddenly become decidedly more patient.

“There,” Revali breathes, lets his fingers slip from Link’s hair reluctantly, admiring the silky texture one last time. “Perfect.”

Link reaches up hesitantly, gently feeling his hair, the ribbons, and finally the smooth, warm ruby stones with slow fingers, getting an idea of what it looked like. “The best in Hyrule.” Revali says quietly. "The rubies will keep your face plenty warm. Those pointy ears, too."

_Thank you, Revali._

“Mmm,” Revali hums to himself as he takes in the entire look. Link stands and turns, admiring it himself. The tunic and trousers are the softest of fabrics, interwoven with molted and treated Rito down feathers in a practice called Snowquill. And it was true, a set of Snowquill clothing had never been made for a Hylian before, but Revali imagines there could be quite a market for it. Link looks warm and content, if a little chubby.

An idea occurs to Revali then. And although his head says don’t, his mouth says, “Actually, one more thing. Come here.”

Link happily obliges, coming up to Revali with an expectant smile. Don’t do it, Revali thinks to himself as he examines his own feathers. But if there’s one thing Revali does well, it’s ignoring good advice, even his own.

 _What are you doing?_ Link signs frantically when Revali sharply plucks a feather from his plumage. _Revali!_

“Calm down,” He replies as he continues searching his wings for a total of three sturdy, suitable feathers. Unlike down feathers, the ones from his wings are water resistant and strong, needing no treatment to be added to the outfit. He picks three of varying sizes, from small to medium to large. “It barely stings.”

Link doesn’t seem pacified by this, but gently bows his head anyway. Revali reaches behind Link’s left ear where there is already a gold ornament clipped into the hair. Gently, he tucks each feather alongside the ornament into the hair in order of size. Together the three feathers make something of a wing shape in the deep grayish blue color of Revali's wings.

“There,” Revali says in a quiet voice. Satisfied that the feathers will stay, he gently lets a few locks of Link’s hair slip from between his fingers. “Don’t take it personally,” He adds in a voice that would suggest otherwise.

Link slowly starts to look up. His cheeks are a bright red, but the two make eye contact and hold it for what seems like ages. Revali wonders if he should tell Link what it means, to wear another’s feathers in your braids. Wonders if he should let Link figure it out himself.     

It distantly occurs to him that he’s keeping an awful lot of secrets from Link, and wonders if he should feel bad for taking advantage.

Link gives him a gentle nudge. _Well,_ he signs. _What's the other gift?_

“Right, right,” Revali mumbles to himself. “Come on.” He leads Link outside of the Roost to the nearest flight deck, not wanting to risk running into his father this morning. No need for anymore embarrassment following last night, after he’d been caught trying to throw Link out a window in suspicious stages of undress.

Link hadn’t even been that upset about it, Revali doesn’t see why his father still is.

Revali sees Colly coming up the stairs before she calls out. They even make eye contact and Colly gives him a playful smirk like she’s about to dive headfirst into mischief and drag him along with her

He tries to set her straight with a threatening glare.

“Link! Revali!”

He needs to work on his threatening glare.

“I’m glad I ran into you,” she says as she comes over to the pair. “How are you feeling, sweet thing?” she asks Link. That’s the thing about Colly, when she’s comfortable with you, you’ll know by the pet names.

“Good.” Revali translates for her as Link signs. “He says thank you for saving his life yesterday.” He adds as a casual afterthought, “I suppose she can claim a quarter of the credit after myself.”

Link jabs him with an elbow, but Colly just laughs. “I must say Link, you wear that Snowquill like a regular Rito warrior. Very dashing.”

Revali is not surprised when Link’s cheeks start turning pink and he levels his stare at the ground, shrugging his shoulders and busying himself with worrying at the edges of the coat. But he’s most certainly suspicious as he eyes Colly, who smirks back at him like she’s already won a game he wasn’t aware they had started.

“So, Link,” Colly starts up again, schooling her expression into one of pure innocence and sweetness. “I have been meaning to ask you for a while, what's the mating scene like in Hyrule?”

For a moment, Link lets himself look completely taken aback before quickly getting his quirked eyebrows under control. Manners, or something like that. He holds his hands in front of his chest without moving them and lets his mouth hang open, what Revali guesses in the sign equivalent of ‘uh’.

“Uh,” Revali butts in, tries to think of a way to buy himself time to figure out what Colly is doing. “Uh, why do you ask?”

“Well,” Colly pretends to be deep in thought, one hand on her hips and the other tapping the tip of her beak. “I’ve been thinking. It’s about time I got out and saw the world beyond Rito Village.” She gives Link a flirtatious look, going so far as to _wink_ at him, and Revali nearly vomits. “And if all the other Hylians are as cute as you, I thought it might be something to look into.”

Link’s face lights up with the speed and intensity of a forest fire, his fingers twitching as he struggles to come up with a response. He turns towards Revali for help, looking like a Hightail Lizard caught in a net. 

“Well, Link is of the noble court, so. He couldn’t really tell you.” Revali throws an arm around Link- idiot, why- as if that would somehow corroborate the nonsense spewing from his beak. “See, the nobles in Hyrule do not marry like Rito do. They have arranged marriages, where the families and parents decide on marriages for their children and give dowries. Money and goods, depending on what they think the partner is worth to their child. It’s more a business deal than anything else.”

Revali is about to pat himself on the back for his quick thinking and evasion of wherever this conversation was going, but he should have really known better when it comes to Colly. Cursed, meddling Colly.

“ _Oh._ ” She says, letting the word drag out. And then she smiles and Revali knows he just handed her some kind of gift. “Link,” She turns to him, but lets her eyes linger on Revali. “What do you suppose your boyfriend here would be worth for a dowry?”

Good Goddess, Revali is going to have to viciously murder a close childhood friend. Not that he was surprised by that, he just never thought it would be Colly. While Revali’s beak opens and closes like a broken hinge, Link somehow recovers from his initial shock and signs something to Colly with a smile. When he notices that Revali isn’t paying enough attention to translate, he gives him a solid nudge before signing it again.

“A quarter herd of Hateno cows.” Revali says automatically without really understanding until it’s out his beak. “ _Excuse you._ ” He cries out, his initial apprehension already forgotten. “A quarter herd!”

Link nods, his face neutral.

“You – How- How dare you?” He realizes he’s shrieking, but doesn’t have the good sense to be embarrassed or even lower his voice. “Well! If I’m worth a measly quarter herd, then you’re worth a single Hateno Cow! A sick one, at that!”

Colly seems to be enjoying herself immensely.

Link makes a face as if seriously pondering the trade. Finally he nods and signs, _Agreed. Your father can expect a quarter herd by the winter solstice, then._

“What did he say?” Colly asks with unmasked glee.

“That he’s an idiot,” Revali grumbles. He grabs Link’s wrist, and starts pulling him in the direction of the flight deck. “Don’t think you’ve won this,” he tells Colly with a squinty glare, not quite sure what ‘this’ even is. But whatever it is, it most certainly is not over, not by a Falcon Bow long shot.

Colly is still laughing behind their backs as they leave, and Link gives her a cheery little wave goodbye as he’s dragged away. Revali never thought he would see the day that those two would gang up against him.

“A quarter herd,” Revali mutters incessantly to himself as he pulls Link along towards the stairs. “The nerve. The sheer audacity. You realize I am the greatest archer in all of Hyrule. The strongest and fastest of the Rito.” He could go on, and has half a mind to. 

Revali feels Link squeeze his hand. He hadn’t even noticed he’d been holding Link’s hand, dragging the Hero along behind him until they were at the flight deck. He thought he'd had him by the wrist. But Link's fingers are undoubtedly curled around his, warm and firm. When he looks back, Link smiles at him, toothy and mirthful. Regrettably, at this time in their friendship, Link seems able to determine the difference between true offense and the harmless fussing that comes from prodding Revali’s ego.

“I’m offended.” Revali tells Link with a glare, but does not release his hand yet. “Truly offended.”

Link squeezes his hand again in a way that feels reassuring and keeps smiling. Little bokoblin.

Revali clicks his beak and drops Link’s hand, not wanting to get too accustomed to the sensation of Link’s callouses sliding across his feathers. A dangerous thing, temptation. “Well, hurry up,” He mumbles, stepping out into the middle of the flight deck. He crouches a bit, and motions for Link to climb on behind him.

 _Where are we going?_ Link signs as he presses himself against Revali’s back, circling his shoulders with his arms.

“Up to Medoh,” Revali tells him as he cranes his neck up, reads the winds and decides on the best path upwards. “I’m going to teach you to fly.”


	14. Chapter 14

Link takes to Medoh with childish excitement. As soon as Revali’s feet meet the grassy top of the mechanical wingspan, Link has slid off his back and dashed straight for the edge. Revali has a mind to say something about a death wish, but doubts Link would hear him over the powerful winds that he worries might knock the boy right over the side. Revali does a quick visual sweep of the wingspan and back just to make sure nothing is out of order before he heads over to Link.

He tries calling out to Link, who is admiring a nearby pillar with unnecessarily reverence, but his words are easily snatched by the high speed of the winds. It’s a good thing he had the Snowquill set made for Link, whose nose tip is starting to pink slightly.

Revali taps Link on the shoulder and signs perfectly (read: slowly and a bit clumsily), _Gift…inside. We go?_

Link absolutely beams at him. _Yes, let’s. Lead the way._

He motions for Link to follow him first to the main control panel – whose bright idea was it to set that up outside? – and sets Medoh to a low, circling course around Totori Lake. Still a respectable height, mind you. As Revali presses away at the buttons of the control panel, Link gently runs his hand over the weathered stone, affording it the same thoughtful admiration that he did the plain pillar on the wing.

Once he’s done setting the course, Revali has to tap Link again to regain his attention, whose eyes are already wandering the horizon. He jerks his head in the direction of the main door and starts walking.

It occurs to Revali, as they reach the inside and he can hear Link’s hand tracing along the wall as his has done before, if Link is jealous. The Master Sword is nothing to sneeze at, obviously. But does Link wish he had a Divine Beast? Not that Revali wants to trade in Medoh, no. The Pilots bond to their Beasts and vice versa: wing to wing, water to water, fire to fire, electricity to desert, or however that one works out. Revali just wonders why the Hylians and Sheikah never made a Divine Beast in the image of themselves. Although Revali is hesitant to ever engage Zelda in matters pertaining to ancient technology, his curiosity might just beat out his common sense in this case.

Before Revali can muse any further, he finds himself inside Medoh’s interior, where Link’s second gift is kept in a chest in a long hallway inside the wing, lined with large circular windows. He stops walking and feels Link bump into him from behind, obviously following too closely and not watching where he was going. Revali clicks his beak at him playfully, to which Link smiles sheepishly and gently nudges him again with his shoulder.

Good Goddess, Revali, what in the name of Calamity are you doing, he thinks.

Thoroughly embarrassed by his childish flirting, Revali motions towards the chest. “Your second gift.” He says.

Link, with the wide, excited eyes of a Rito fledgling on their birthday, goes immediately to the chest, kneeling down and tossing up the lid with more force than necessary. Revali watches with amusement as confusion flashes across Link’s face as he pulls out the contents, a careful construction of cloth and wood, and holds it up to examine more closely. After he’s turned it over a few times, tested it’s weight in his hands, he looks to Revali.

“It’s a paraglider.” Revali explains. He walks over, takes it from Link momentarily to turn it right side up and put it back in Link’s hands, gently moving his fingers to where he should be holding it. “At least, that’s what I’m calling it. It’s the first of its kind, after all.”

Link takes another look at the paraglider, with the same wonder he regarded Medoh with, and Revali feels pride swell in his chest. It was ingenious, his design and Loriini’s master craftsmanship. It had taken hours of discussion (arguing) before the two Rito had agreed on how to make it. First they agreed they’d need to fashion their own cloth, a blend of water resistant and fireproof fabrics to make the sail – rectangular in shape except wider along the top and narrower at the bottom, or back, of the paraglider. While Loriini fussed over the stitching, insisting that they put the Rito symbol on it because “on principle, any gift worth making is worth making right”, Revali had painstakingly carved and shaped the wooden pieces that would make up the frame and the hand holds. After treating the wood with several coatings, Revali deemed them strong, element resistant, and flexible enough to be tied together at the joints and have the cloth strapped to it.

The design is still a bit cumbersome with room for improvement, and Revali suspects that Loriini seriously considered beating her stubborn son over the head with a club once or twice, but the product was as perfect as it could get.

And so, so worth it.

Link threw his arms up, spreading the paraglider over his head with the goofiest look Revali has ever seen on his face. He nods at him as if to ask, _like this?_

“Exactly like that.” Revali reaches up to gently nudge Link’s left hand back a bit on the grip to make sure the weight would be as evenly distributed as it could be. “I’m still working out the kinks,” he muses as he circles Link, examining his creation, “Mind you, it’s still a prototype. But if you jump off a high point or catch the right updraft, you should be able to fly. It’s not exactly ancient Sheikah technology, but-”

Link sets the paraglider down, and before Revali can finish his sentence he’s got both arms around Revali’s neck, throwing himself into the hug with enough force that Revali has to take a few steps back, carrying Link with him. “Whoa there,” he says, and at one point, Revali wonders how his old self would have responded to this. With anger or confusion. But this Revali, the one here and now with Link, slips his arms around Link’s lower back and squeezes him back with the same enthusiasm and strength, lifting him just slightly off the ground. “You’re welcome.” Feeling particularly bold, Revali buries his face into Link’s neck, inhaling the smell of Snowquill and a scent so specifically _Link_.

Revali doesn’t know long they hold their embrace (not long enough) but eventually Link’s excitement gets the better of him, and he starts wiggling himself free. Revali lets him go reluctantly, and Link raises the paraglider above his head again. Revali can do nothing but shake his head and smile when Link jerks his head in a general direction that probably means, _let’s go let’s go let’s go!_

“Hold your horse, fledgling,” Revali walks over to a nearby orange switch, and gives it a knock with his fist. The switch turns blue, and the window near Link slowly slides open. It’s a good thing Revali slowed Medoh’s flight to a slow, slow crawl, or else Link might have been sucked right out.

Link peers over the edge carefully, lowering the paraglider. Now that he’s looking at out the window, at the long drop to the ground, his enthusiasm deflates only slightly

“A few bits of advice,” Revali says, walking back over and taking Link’s elbow. He moves him so that they’re standing facing one another, a few feet apart, but motions for Link to keep the paraglider handy.

Link nods expectantly, steeling himself for his first lesson.

 “If you jump or fall off the Divine Beast in midair, remember this acronym: Squat,” Revali does so. “Pray,” He puts his hands together and makes a face of focus, “Leap,” He extends with a burst of force, launching himself a few feet into the air, “Aaa!” Revali screeches to Link’s utter shock as he is midair. “Touchdown,” He says as his falls back to his feet, making sure to accompany the landing with a flourishing arm gesture. He crosses his arms and let’s Link take it all in with skeptical eyes.

 _That…_ Link signs slowly, not taking suspicious eyes off of Revali, _Spells… SPLAT…_

“Calamity yeah it does,” Revali replies, and with a perfectly straight face, uses one hand to give Link a solid shove right out the window, paraglider and all.

If Link screams at all, it’s swallowed by the wind.

“Remember to SPLAT!” Revali calls out the window after him, smiling with undeniable satisfaction, as if he’s perhaps fulfilled a long time fantasy. (A/N)

* * *

It’s what the Hatchlings call trial by fire, and Revali had every faith in Link’s ability to succeed. It’s not like he let Link learn unsupervised, streamlining to the ground alongside the Hero as he flailed to take control of the situation midair. If he’d just let Link fall by himself, now that would have been downright dangerous.

Link is a quick learner and somewhere just after halfway to the ground he manages to get his fingers around the paraglider and raise it above his head. Revali winces as it catches and Link’s arms are jerked up in a motion that rocks his entire body, kicking up his legs even. But his grip holds strong, so he didn’t pop his shoulder out. In hindsight Revali might have advised him to be more careful about throwing the glider up like that, but, well. Touching fire is the fastest way to learn that it burns.

Revali untucks his wings and tilts his arms to open them up until he’s gliding evenly with Link. “Lean, aim with your chest!” Revali yells out, straining his voice to be heard above the wind.

Link catches on as quickly as Revali expected he would. He’s got a solid minute or so before he reaches the ground and alternates between hovering in place and leaning his weight to change the direction of his flight. Revali circles lazily, seeing the way Link’s face pinches in concentration and eventual in an unrestrained smile once he’s got it all figured out.

Revali streamlines ahead of him to wait on the ground, preening like a proud parent as Link slowly lowers to the ground. He shouldn’t be surprised that he’s met by angry fists, pounding on his chest hard enough to make a point but not hurt.

“Ow! Link! Calm down, you lived didn't you!”

The whole pushing out the window matter is quickly forgotten. Link is wholly taken with the paraglider; Revali sits and preens his feathers while Link jumps off every surface available to him. He’s launching himself out of trees, off of boulders, into small ravines. An hour passes like that, until Link is satisfied, or at least until his fingers are shaking with the strain of holding the paraglider, forcing him to take a break.

“Well, how do you like it?” Revali asks when Link comes to sit beside him on a rock in the sun. He offers Link a bite of an apple he’s already halfway through.

Link shakes his head at the apple. _It’s incredible. Flying is incredible._

“I’m glad we agree there.”

 _I wish,_ Link pauses to think for a moment. _I wish I could fly like you. Like Revali’s Gale._

Revali snorts at that. “Not in a hundred years, hatchling.”

_Thank you. For all of your gifts. They are perfect._

“You’re welcome.” Revali gives Link a pat on the back. “Think you’ve gotten the hang of it, then? Flying?”

_I think so. What do you think?_

“Decent enough. You’ve taken to the skies well.” Revali takes one last bite of the apple before tossing it into some bushes nearby for the squirrels to finish. “I think you're as close to ready as you'll get." 

_Ready for what?_

“To start messing with that damn slate.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I cannot take credit for the wonderful "SPLAT" joke in this fic (unfortunately). The comic is from tumblr, drawn by user katribou (katribou.tumblr.com). 
> 
> I was not the only one who loved this idea, because the voice actor for Revali, Sean Chiplock, did a voice over of the comic! His tumblr can be found here, (https://sonicmega.tumblr.com/). He's really funny and loves interacting with the fans, I'd recommend giving it a look! 
> 
> The comic and voiceover can be found on Chiplock's tumblr here!  
> https://sonicmega.tumblr.com/post/158703716761/here-in-hyrule-we-take-our-safety-very-seriously


	15. Chapter 15

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope the plot around the Sheikah Slate holds up as plausible for you guys in this chapter...

“Absolutely not.” Revali crosses his arms and shakes his head. “Tell me how you think it works and we can try it. In that order.”

Link shakes his head, _It's just a theory_ _. I will tell you when I know something for sure._

"You’ll tell me now.” Revali doesn’t have a proper ‘or else’ to finish out that threat – he’s not sure he could even stop Link, barring the use of excessive physical force. So he quirks an eyebrow and sets it like stone, hoping to bluff Link into behaving.

Thank the Goddess, it seems to work. Link throws up his hands in forfeit. _It’s hard to put in words. Signs._

“Try me.”

 _I think,_ Link makes a face and halfheartedly flexes his fingers. _I think I can control it with my thoughts. Sort of._

“What makes you think that.” Revali doesn’t bother telling Link that it sounds crazy. Link bites the inside of his cheek and lets his gaze drift sideways. “Link.”

_The sword may have… told me._

Link seems to be waiting for some kind of incredulous outburst. Out of spite, Revali calmly puts his palms together as if in prayer, and touches them gently to the tip of his beak. He closes his eyes and lets a sigh out through his nose. After counting to ten, he opens his eyes and squares a look at Link.

Hylia help him, Revali is turning into his father. This is the last straw, it really is. But he’ll worry about it later, when Link’s not being ridiculous. “Link. Your sword, supposedly a voice only you can hear. Is telling you how to activate the Slate. With your thoughts. So your thoughts are telling your thoughts to use your thoughts to do something incredibly dangerous.”

Link gives him a sharp kick.

Recall makes the very mature decision to ignore Link's childish assault. "What in Calamity makes you think this is a good idea?”

The best Link can offer is a vague, vague shrug, followed by an enthusiastic thumbs up that is probably supposed to make up for something.

Revali should take that Slate and chuck it into the Lake. Scratch that, he should take it up to Medoh and launch it over the wing. Double scratch that, he should grab the slate, use it to clock Link over the head to knock some sense into him, take it up to Medoh, _and then_  chuck it over the wing. But Revali is constantly surprising himself these days and he says instead, “Alright. What’s your plan?”

He should have expected another sheepish shrug. Like Link, who anticipated and dodged the smack aimed for his head.

* * *

Revali doesn’t know how he ever thought Link was such a quick learner. Picking up the paraglider the way he did – it must have been a ridiculous fluke. Well, perhaps he’s being a bit harsh. Link has learned to activate the travelling component of the Slate, he has to give him credit for that. It lights up in a different way than when he tries to access the compendium or other features. For an hour or so all Link can get is that orange light, flickering pathetically in much the same way a fish flaps on land.

“I should have brought a book.” Revali offers oh so helpfully from where he’s lounging in the shade of an apple tree.

Link spares him a glare from nearby in the grass. Just long enough to convey frustration and anger before he turns back to the Slate and gives it a few rough shakes. Revali peeks from the periphery, trying not to get caught being curious. Link repeats what he’s been doing for the past hour – he clutches the Slate with a vengeance, holds it in his lap, and closes his eyes. Revali wonders if the slight tilt of his head towards the sky is on purpose or not.

Revali hears crickets.

Honest to Goddess, the only sound to be heard is Restless Crickets in the nearby grass, and Link drops the slate with a sigh. He leans back a bit, signing to Revali, _It’s not working._

“I noticed.” He agreed. “Come on, tell me what you’re trying to accomplish here.” Link shrugs halfheartedly like he’s going to try and dodge the question again. “Whatever it is, it’s clearly not working for you. Talk it through with me. Your failure is starting to bore me.”

Link bites his cheek but eventually turns himself around, scooting closer in the grass so he’s positioned face to face Revali, who in turn sits up a little straighter to give Link his full attention. “Out with it, then.”

 _It’s_ , Link tilts his head, eyes drifting sideways as he thinks of what to say and how. _Something_ _Mipha told me once._

Revali pretends his feathers don’t ruffle slightly at the mention of her. Burning jealousy and a splash of guilt churn in his stomach, but he tucks that away in his head for later. Mipha is innocent of whatever angry thoughts pop into Revali's head, so he forces on a neutral expression as he motions for Link to go on.

_I asked her once about her healing power. How it works. She said it’s about thought. Focusing on thoughts that encourage certain emotions and feelings._

“And what,” Revali already knows the answer and hates himself for needing to hear it out loud anyway. A damn masochist, is what he is. “What sort of thoughts does she think?”

S _he said she thinks of happy things. Memories that make her feel warm and loved. Like friends and family. And then,_ Link fumbles for the next sign to appropriate convey what Mipha told him. Hopes he hasn’t lost too much in translation. _Visualizes? She visualizes those thoughts passing through her hands, into wounds. Visualizes giving someone her happiness._

Revali nods. Neutrally, of course. He’s about to break eye contact and busy himself with angrily tearing grass out of the ground when he catches Link moving out of the corner of his eyes.

Link’s the one not making eye contact this time, instead focusing intently on the ground in front of him. _I know she thinks of me, sometimes. But I…_ Link trails off, his hands dropping. He tries again, _I…_

“Is that why you asked me?” Revali interrupts. Well, half interrupts. It’s not like Link was going somewhere with what he was saying. At least, not any place Revali wanted to go. “About how I use Revali’s Gale.”

Link nods. _You said you think about things that make you strong. Maybe the Slate works like that. Or at least, that's what the Master Sword hinted at._

“But I thought the Slate had set destinations.” Revali tries his best to remember Zelda’s little history lesson from so long ago. “That they just weren’t activated.”

 _Exactly,_ Link is starting to get excited now that they're working through his theory, drawing himself up on his knees to move closer to Revali. He passes him the Slate for consideration. _Maybe the Slate is activated by my thoughts, but because it can’t fix on those destination points, it just kind of. Throws me. Aimlessly._

Revali fixes Link with a squinty eyed look, but the Hylian doesn’t deflate in the least. “This is ridiculous,” He finally sighs. “It’s a glorified brick, Link. The Slate can’t know what you’re thinking and then try to half ass results for you. It’s not magic.”

Link barks out a laugh that he quickly wrangles into ill-disguised snorts. Revali fixes him with a full on glare until Link’s giggling is under control enough for him to explain. _Sorry. It’s just that Zelda says something similar when she’s frustrated. That Sheikah Technology must be two parts science, one part magic._

“The Hero Who Hears Voices is hardly one to laugh,” Revali snaps back, clicking his beak. The slight insult rolls right off Link’s back. “Alright.” He says with just a hint of defeat in his voice. “Let’s think back to the two other times the slate activated.”

Link nods, adopting a serious face.

“The first time was on Rudania,” Revali tries to remember as best he can. “It dumped you in a river. What were you thinking then?”

Link’s face starts to pink. He avoids eye contact as he replies, _You were… teasing me. About giving me a nickname. Was so embarrassed, just wanted to leave._

Revali’s not sure how to feel about being partly responsible for Link’s first hurtle through space, but ignores it for now. “Okay, and what about the second time?”

Link’s face is crossing the line between pink and red when he shrugs. _On the Roost… You were taking me to see the sunset. I was so happy and grateful…_ Link trials off, presumably in embarrassment, and Revali is so curious about what he’s got to say that he doesn’t nag him to go on. Eventually, Link starts rambling like he can’t get it out fast enough; _You seemed distracted by something. Really distracted. Then you said you wanted wildberries but the village didn’t have any, and I wanted to be able to give you some, and I knew there would be some on the mountain and I must have been thinking about it when it happened and –_

“Wait. Wait, wait, wait, wait.” Revali needs a moment to process. Link’s frantic hand signing had been starting to make him dizzy. “You,” He closes his eyes, takes a deep breath, holds it for five seconds, and exhales. “I am. I am going to murder you. Honestly. Link, from the bottom of my heart, I want you to know that I am going to throw you off Medoh without a paraglider. Calamity be damned.”

Link purses his lips. _I’m being serious, Revali._

“So am I!” He practically squawks. “But I might not even get the opportunity! Who knows, the next time the weather is too hot, you might accidentally wish you were swimming instead and get tossed into the middle of the ocean! Or get stranded in the Gerudo Wastelands!” He’s standing now, throwing his arms up and pacing because he’s suddenly got too much energy, too many thoughts cooped up in his head. Link almost froze to death because Revali had backed out of telling him his feelings at the last second. “The next time you’re craving lizard tail, you could end up barbequed on Death Mountain!”

Link stands up to match Revali, steps in front of him to stop his pacing and get his attention. _That’s not,_ He signs, looking frustrated and maybe even a bit panicked. _That’s not going to happen!_

“Yeah, it won’t!” Revali’s voice is getting steadily louder, but he doesn’t care. He bends down, picks up the Slate and waves it in Link’s face like it’s the enemy. “Because I’m getting rid of this thing. It was a mistake to be fooling around with it in the first place. It’s going to get you killed!”

 _It won’t!_ Link snatches the Slate from Revali’s hands, quickly hooking it onto his leather belt behind his back, where Revali’ can’t reach it as easily. _It doesn’t work like that!_

“You barely know how it works! We don’t know what could trigger it next!”

 _I know!,_ Link signs so forcefully that it must be the sign equivalent of shouting. It would make sense, he’s as much up in Revali’s face as Revali is in his. _I know it won’t happen randomly again!_

“How can you know, huh? How can you know?”

_Because if I can focus harder I think I can learn to control it! Those two random times, it took strong thoughts and -_

“Oh, great. So you’ll just never think about anything ever again, sounds reasonable. Completely doable.”

_Strong thoughts about you, Revali!_

Oh. Revali lets the rest of his argument die in his throat. Crap. Damn it. Damn it all to Calamity.

As the fight drains right out of Revali’s tensed shoulders and raised feathers, Link’s face also softens. _That’s what they both had in common,_ Link continues slowly, breaking the angry eye contact they’d been holding moments ago. _You._

There’s a few more moments of tense silence as Link looks at everything that isn’t Revali, and Revali lets his feathers lay flat against his skin again. He lets his fists unclench and unpuffs his chest. “Why me?” He eventually says so quietly he wonders if Link even heard him.

 _Why not you?_ Link asks back, which Revali did not except one bit. _You’re my closest friend._

Revali feels a lot of things in that moment. In no particular order, he recognizes hope, confusion, nauseating uncertainty, and warm happiness swirling in his stomach, threatening his breakfast. He thinks he sees the overall worry reflected in Link’s own face, who is peeking up at him from under his eyelashes. Maybe wondering if he’s overstepped.

Goddess above, Revali’s life has become a romance story.

Link absolutely lights up when Revali awkwardly clears his threat. He manages to force out, “For all the times I’ve held you naked, you’d think I’d at least be an official best friend, you ungrateful Moblin.”

 _We weren’t naked,_ Link signs and gives Revali a playful punch to the shoulder. _And I was practically unconscious. You took advantage._

“I’ll keep that in mind next time, since it’s becoming such a pattern with you.”

Link snorts. A few quiet moments pass before he hesitantly signs, _We good?_

“Of course.” Revali says gently. But he refuses to apologize for trying to keep Link’s suicidal tendencies in check. In lieu of that apology, he reaches out and actually ruffles Link’s hair fondly.

Although he’ll deny it to his dying day.

Link pretends to be upset, reaching up to comb his hair back into place with his fingers _You’ll help me then? To figure this out?_ He asks after his gold hair is sitting flat.

Revali makes a show of sighing and shrugging, resigned to his fate. “I still don’t like it. But I suppose someone has to hold your hand.”

_Thank you. But, lunch first?_

Revali hums in reply. "Best friends," he whispers to himself, watching Link's back as the Hylian makes his way to the leather satchel under the tree in which they'd packed their lunches. "Best friends," he whispers again, testing the feel of it on his tongue. 

In no particular order, Revali thinks he feels both disappointment and joy. 


	16. Chapter 16

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A huge thank you to everyone still hanging in there with me! I'm sorry I haven't posted in a while now, I actually just started at my new job. Exciting new horizons and all that. I hope this chapter makes up for my absence. 
> 
> Extra love and thanks to all of you who reviewed and sent kudos!

Link’s plan of attack for the Slate problem is hyper focused meditation, which, and Revali is comfortable being quoted on this, is dumb. Revali tells Link as much and is promptly ignored, to which he informs Link that he is mute not deaf and therefore being rude, which Link responds to with a pointed glare, and so on and so forth. Revali thinks that Link is really splitting feathers on his idea of strong versus calm thoughts and how to activate the Sheikah Slate on purpose versus by accident, but he is grudgingly aware that there are many things Link knows that he does not. So when Link asks him for a quiet, secluded space where he could concentrate, Revali brings him to Warbler’s Nest.

Warbler’s Nest is something of hallowed ground, in the most casual sense. On the average day, Warbler’s Nest is peaceful and deserted. It was once a place of greater religious importance, but now the Rito people use it almost exclusively for weddings and seasonal festivals. Revali himself is expected to marry here someday, something the Elder told him when he was young and the idea of love and marriage still repulsive. He doesn’t know why he thinks of it now, lounging in the grass listening to the whistle of the wind through the rocks as Link meditates. Surely it has nothing to do with the way the midday sun reflects off Link’s gold hair, or how it must be making his skin warm to the touch.

Left with nothing but his imagination to keep him entertained, Revali lets his thoughts wander. The descendants of the Hyrule royal family have married in the Temple of Time since the dawn of the kingdom; They are the only ones allowed to use it for purposes other than religious pilgrimage, seeing as their bloodline was that of the Goddess Hylia herself. Revali’s next thought is where someone like Link would marry. A technically base-born knight whose only family were corporeal tree spirits and a rooted Deku Tree, older than Hyrule itself. How does one even go about telling an ancient deity, older and more powerful than Calamity Ganon, that you want to wed and bed his adopted son? While Revali is equally adamant about both the wedding and the bedding, he is amenable to whichever order Link prefers them, not that he would say as much to Link’s father. In Rito, it is common for the cock or hen proposing marriage to garner the parent’s approval. Although not strictly necessary, it is a matter of honor that your mate’s parents deem you a suitable provider for their child, and Revali is nothing if not honorable.

While on the subject of marriage, Revali’s not sure how his train of thought does it, he finds himself wondering what sort of grand wedding the Zora people would put on for Mipha and Link. Mipha is adored by her people and she adores Link in even greater amounts. No doubt it would be splendid. It’s a trying thought, one that most certainly does not stir something green eyed and vicious in Revali’s stomach. Certainly not so consuming a question that Revali does not even notice that Link’s managed to activate the Sheikah Slate until over one hundred pounds of gourmet Hylian Hero meat are being dumped onto his head from the sky, still blue and tingling with energy, technology, and maybe just a bit of magic.

Link is so excited at his success that Revali doesn't even get an apology after they’re done rolling down the hill in a mess of limbs and swears.

* * *

  _I knew I could do it!_ Link is practically shrieking with his hands, still vibrating with excitement and leftover energy from the Sheikah Slate. Revali suspects that Link has more excited things to say, but speaking with his hands is a real hindrance when he’s waving the Slate around like a flag.

“How?” Revali asks, managing with his longer reach to snatch the Slate from Link’s hands where it waves above the Hylian’s shorter head. He turns it over in his hands, personally offended that he can’t even get a flicker of orange light from the brick.

 _I concentrated,_ Link explains, simple as that.  _Visualised, like you do._

“And what,” Revali turns the Slate over a few more times to no avail. “You just thought really hard about falling straight onto my head?”

Link makes a dissatisfied grunting sound and his cheeks start to pink. _Tried to think about where you were._ He signs and pauses, taking time to consider his next statement. _I think it’s easier to create a destination if I can focus on a... an anchor._

“Well, now you’re just calling me fat.”

 _You said it, not me_ , Link signs quickly, taking a preemptive step back away from Revali. When all he receives for the jab is a squinty look, he continues, _I think if the anchor is something I’m familiar with, something I can picture in detail, it works much better._

Revali is dying to ask just how much detail of his person Link has memorized, but decides to save it for another day. He’s loath to admit, but unlocking the travel function in the Slate is starting to make him feel as giddy as Link. “But why didn't it work for Zelda? She’s spent hours on this thing.” He adds an afterthought, “And has a lot of powerful feelings…”

Link gives this a few seconds of thought. _Zelda…_ He starts slowly, _She found these… structures. All over Hyrule. Really old structures made of the same design as the Guadrians._ Link points back towards Rito in the distance. _You have one in your village._

“What, the Shrine?” Revali has a vague memory of the first time he met Link. The night of the feast, when he could barely stomach looking at him, he remembered Zelda eyeing the structure Link was describing, set in stone on one of the many rock pillars that made up the village. It had been there as long as Rito Village could remember, and has  been entirely dormant. Revali doesn’t know who in their people’s history called it a Shrine first, but that’s how the people know it now. And if there were a way inside, it was well and truly shut.

 _Shrine, structure,_ Link shrugged, _Zelda has been trying for years to find a way inside. But no matter what she does, none of them will open. She thinks they were designed to open exclusively for the Master Sword’s Chosen One._

“Well?” Revali asks impatiently. “Can you get in?”

Link shakes his head, followed quickly by a shrug. He signs with a reluctant look, _We weren’t exactly on friendly terms, back then. She’s more interested in the Guardians and Divine Beasts now._

“That’s foolish and stubborn.” Revali affirms with crossed arms, seeing as he is the expert on being foolish and stubborn. “But it’s a matter for another time. You think the Slate is like that? But Zelda’s used the camera and everything else.”

 _Maybe the set destinations are those shrines!_ Link signs suddenly, his eyes snapping wide. _If she can’t access the shrines, she can’t access the travel ability!_

Revali hums quietly to himself as he takes the theory in, turns it over in his head. “This seems to happen rarely, so savor this moment.” Revali nods and hands the Slate back to Link. “You might actually be on to something.”

Link snorts and rolls his eyes. _I’ll have to tell Zelda about it when she gets back._

Revali feels it like a gentle prod to the gut. Nothing sharp or jarring, just unexpected, the sudden realization that eventually his slice of happiness, here with Link in Rito Village, will come to an end. Soon, they’ll be needed back at the Castle. Hyrule will need them. The war will need them. Calamity Ganon has loomed on Revali’s mind for years now, as it has every being in Hyrule. But here, with Link, Revali can’t remember the last time he’d thought about it, the war ahead. About how much longer he will be able to monopolize Link like this.

Link gently nudges Revali’s arm, snapping him out of whatever trance he’d fallen into. _You okay?_ Link asks, peering up at him.

“Ah, yes. Of course." Revali shakes his head, reaching up with one hand to scrub at his eyes and hopefully remove whatever look he’d had on his face to cause Link to worry. “I just… Do you ever get blindsided by how time can get away from you?”

Link gives Revali a look that he can’t place or dissect.

“Nevermind. Let’s try with the Slate again.”

_Okay! Where should I try to travel to next?_

“Anywhere that isn’t the top of my head.” Revali mumbles as he takes a quick sweep of their surroundings. “How about that apple tree, over there?”

Link spends the next fifteen minutes staring intently at an apple tree and then another fifteen minutes with his eyes closed as he tries to visualize before he tries it with the Slate. Revali doesn’t let his mind wander this time, focused entirely on Link. He doesn’t even gripe about how boring the whole thing is, he’s that interested.

This time, Link is able to offer a better explanation of his process. The way the tree looked was the first thing he memorized. The shape the leaves made, how many apples he could see through the branches and foliage. Second was how it felt to sit beneath the tree: the sound of the wind whistling through the nearby rocks, the smell of the water nearby, the feeling of crisp, cool air in his nostrils. Once he felt prepared, Link motioned for the two of them to move, relocating to a grassy space out of sight of the tree before sitting back down again.

Now that Link had the process down he made the whole thing look rather easy. Confident that he had the perfect mental image of that specific apple tree in mind, Link gave Revali a thumbs up before picking up the Slate in both hands and closing his eyes again. Within minutes, the Slate came to life, glowing orange and humming. The blue energy started at Link’s fingertips, moving outward to encompass his entire body like it had before. This time Link did not panic, remaining still as he was lifted from the ground, his legs unfolding beneath him before turning blue.

Within seconds, the energy that snatched Link into the sky returned him to the ground. Albeit a stone’s throw away from the tree in question, but at least this time Link landed on his feet.

Revali lets out the breath he was very aware he’d been holding.

* * *

By the time the sun starts setting Link has expanded his technological travels to include Revali’s head, an apple tree, that rock over there (no, not that one, the other one, idiot), and a cold puddle of rainwater just a few feet to the left of that patch of sunshrooms.

By the end of it, Link is mentally and physically wiped.

“Are you hungry?” Revali takes a helping of dried and salted meat out of the satchel they brought with them for himself and offers a second to Link. They hadn’t eaten since lunch and even that had been barely a snack.

Link shakes his head with a resigned groan. He falls back into the grass and signs something about head pain before throwing an arm over his eyes to block out what’s left of the sun. They’ve chosen a quiet, shaded spot to relax in the grass, green and cushy beneath them while they eat a sad excuse for a dinner.

“I got to say Link, I didn’t have a whole lot of faith in you,” Revali says around a mouthful of dried meat. He takes a moment to savor the salted flavor before he amends, “But you’ve proved me wrong. You can actually use the Slate.”

Link grunts in a vague tone. He manages to force himself upright, grudgingly holding out his hand to Revali. He takes a small shred of meat, and forces it into his mouth, chewing slowly before he swallows. Smart boy, knows he should eat. Link takes a few more forced bites like that and a generous swig of water before he signs, _Not much practical use, considering the concentration and time it takes._ He pinches his eyes shut and rubs at his temples as if to prove his point.

“Fair.” Revali shrugs and bites off another chunk of salted meat. “But you should be proud,” Revali offers, pointedly not looking at Link as he speaks. “You’ve managed to figure out how to use the Slate when no one else could.” He says, letting his gaze drift towards Link who is thoughtfully chewing a thumbnail. Gross.

Link continues his careful consideration of his thumbnail for a few more moments before looking up at Revali with a tired smile. _Zelda is going to kill me when I tell her I figured it out._

Revali nods sagely and doesn't bother denying it. “Most likely. I will mourn you.”

 _Will you now?_ Link asks with a sarcastic smile.

Revali pretends to give it serious thought, gently stroking his beak with his feathers as he hums quietly. “My life is significantly better with you in it.” He finally says. 

Urbosa is probably rolling in her grave somewhere. Or in an opulent, gold carved, ruby encrusted bath. Whatever.

Link can’t seem to help himself as he melts into a fit of poorly disguised giggles.

“Yeah, yeah, get it out.” Revali says, stuffing more salted meat into his mouth as Link clutches his sides. “That’s the last time I join the feelings circle.” He adds as a very mature afterthought, refusing to acknowledge the heat in his cheeks even if he knows Link doesn’t mean it in a malicious way.

However, the Goddess Hylia seems to be on Revali’s side. As Link’s chest heaves in one more bout of laughter his migraine from earlier spikes with the effort, and he grabs at his head with a hiss. But it doesn’t stop the last of Link’s giggles as he holds his head with one hand and wipes the beginnings of tears from his eyes with the other. He's still smiling, the little Moblin.

Revali doesn’t know why he does it then. He doesn’t mean to do it, he hadn't even been thinking about it, but it comes out long before he realizes what he’s doing.

“Link, I’m in love with you.”

The wind keeps blowing, the sun keeps shining, the world doesn’t stop spinning just because Revali is putting his heart on the line. In fact, it came out surprisingly easy now that he hasn't been obsessing over it. Link, however, freezes like a stone, one hand at his head and one hand at his eyes. His face is similarly stuck in what Revali could only describe as _what_.

 _What?_ Link signs dumbly, his hands out and palms up.

Revali knows it’s not the best idea but he says anyway, “You’re mute, not deaf.” Then, just in case, “I’m in love with you.”

Huh. It actually feels rather nice to say.

“Take your time,” Revali says with a snort while Link’s jaw works uselessly, as if he were trying to speak. “I’ll wait.”

 _I_ , Link starts fumbling. _I’m not sure what to say. I’m not sure what to do._

“Just listen, then. Let me speak my piece and respond honestly to yourself.” Revali sets aside what’s left of the salted meat, brushes the crumbs from his hands, and situates himself across from Link. “Following our victory over Calamity Ganon, I intend to pursue you romantically. I will court you proper, pay my due respects to the Princess and your father, and if you continue to find me amenable, we shall marry. Whether you remain in service to the Princess is of no concern to me. My only demand is that we be together. I am also open to adopting children, one Rito child for one Hylian, of course. But that can all be negotiated at a later date as we see fit.”

Revali doesn’t think he spoke that quickly or used any particularly large words, but gives Link ample quiet time for consideration. Link’s eyes are open so wide Revali could probably peer into there and catch a glimpse of whatever monkey is at the controls smashing switches and pulling levers. But he decides not to push the issue.

“I’m not asking you to marry me here and now.” Revali says while Link’s brain scrambles to catch up. “I just want you know where I stand. My intentions. And it’s possible I’ve misread the situation. But the most important thing is that you’re honest with me. If you have no such feelings for me, please tell me.” Revali tries to fake nonchalance with a shrug. “Then we return to the way we’ve always been.”

Still nothing.

"I am confident that I can win your heart, if I have not already." There's nothing fake about that. Maybe just a dash of smugness.

Link nods. Slowly at first, and then a few bigger nods, mostly to himself. Horribly unhelpful and vague. But for once his cheeks aren’t on fire and he isn’t trying his best to sink into the floor. _I am…_ Link signs slowly, pauses to think, and makes another sign in front of his chest with both hands that looks vaguely like crab pincers.

“Come again?”

Link smiles and shakes his head. Slowly, he repeats the sign, and then spells out with one hand, _a-m-e-n-a-b-l-e._

Oh. “Oh.”

 _That was the most Revali confession I could have expected_ , Link signs with a ridiculous smile. And then, casual as all else, he reaches across the gap between them to weave his fingers in between Revali’s.

Oh.

 _I just ask,_ Link takes his hand back to sign, _That we go... slowly._

"Glacial, if it pleases you," Revali answers easily. 

Link nods and slips his hand back beneath Revali's.

"You’re sure this is okay?” Revali asks with a squeeze.

Link nods and signs, one handed, _Okay_ _._


	17. Chapter 17

Revali considers the Hylian hand in his own, tracing the delicate skin of the palms with his feathers. Link snorts at the ticklish feeling but doesn’t pull away, so Revali turns it over to appreciate the topside, gently grazing over the knuckles. The skin is far from smooth, but there are patches of softness untouched by scars. Revali has never held a Hylian hand before, much less the one of his intended. But Link had given his hand under the promise of moving slowly, and so Revali worships this hand with the same reverence he would afford anything else Link offers. He traces every scar, tests the thickness of every callus, maps every river of light blue veins beneath his thin skin.

Revali doesn’t know how many minutes pass like this, under the fading warmth of the setting sun. He loses himself to the sound of the whistling wind of Warbler’s Nest and the feel of Link’s hand. And Link allows it, seems to even enjoy it until his curiosity gets the better of him. He takes his hand back for as long as it takes to sign, _What are you doing?_ with a gentle smirk.

Not sure what to do with his suddenly empty hands, Revali shrugs and crosses his arms, leaning back against a nearby rock. “I was just thinking. This feels too easy,” Link makes a face like he’s about to pretend to be offended so Revali quickly amends, “I don’t mean you. It just seems too easy, telling you how I feel and everything works out as simple as that.”

Link gently pulls some grass out of the ground and lets the wind carry them off as he gives it some thought. _Wouldn't know._   _I’ve never been “pursued romantically”,_ Link signs with a full on smirk, adding finger quotes for emphasis.

“First off,” Revali says in a tone that has no time for his sass, “It’s called courting. And I’ve never _courted_ anyone either.” After a moment he mumbles out, “Not seriously, anyhow.”

Link quirks a curious eyebrow at him, but thankfully does not ask. Revali’s got a million rebuttals on his mind; They weren’t you, I was young, it meant nothing. But Revali is not about to be ashamed of who he is or what he’s done, and Link seems to think the same.

All that matters now is what they have, anyway.

 _Well,_ Link signs slowly. _I’ve seen a little courting. At the castle. So I- I can ask a boon of you, right?_

“Within reason.” Revali hoists himself to sit up straight, leaving no question that Link has his full attention. He’s been asked boons before by hens and cocks, but for some reason his heart starts hammering. “And I will do all within my power to grant it.”

 _Zelda has been courted many times,_ Link explains and begins to list, _Warriors, land owners, explorers, musicians…_

“Link, you need only ask. Anything.”

_A poem? Or maybe a sonnet?_

After a long, long pause that was more of a silence than it ever was a pause, Revali deadpans, “Ask for something else.”

Link laughs through his nose and rolls his eyes. _Well,_ he signs slowly, dare Revali say coyly, _Maybe you would grant me the honor of using your Great Eagle Bow._

Revali’s not a dumb Rito, he sees what Link is doing. Tilting his face down and looking up at Revali from beneath the light smudges of his eyelashes, those pretty blue eyes extra wide. Had Link always been such a charmer? Or perhaps the word is schemer.

While Revali is busy trying to recall all the times Link had used those big blue eyes against him without him realizing, Link must take his hesitation for denial. _You let Zelda use it once_ , he signs, looking a bit pouty.

“We were under attack by Moblins and Bokoblins, I’d consider the circumstances extreme,” Revali mumbles, but unfolds his legs to stand. Link follows him up, bouncing up and down on his heels as Revali reaches behind his back to unhook his bow from the strap. “However, as my intended.” Revali holds the bow out, his hand fitting automatically into the barely there finger shaped grooves in the wood that came from extensive use. “I grant you this happily.”

Revali’s shocked that the words don’t taste even a bit like a lie as he holds the bow out to Link. His most precious possession.

Link’s eyes narrow ever so slightly as he reaches for the bow. His hand stops a few inches away as if he’s expecting a trick, or for Revali to pull it back at the last second. Revali quirks an eyebrow and ever so slowly Link lets his fingertips rest on the wood. Slowly he curls his fingers around the grip, his palm coming to rest and he gently lifts it from Revali’s hand.

When Link’s actions don’t cue the Calamity he pulls the bow away to grip in both hands, his eyes lighting up wide with wonder. He holds it reverently, almost greedily, as he turns it over and slides his hands along the wood, tracing the string with a fingertip.

“Here,” Revali says as he shrugs off his quiver and slips the leather strap over Link’s shoulder. “I won’t have you shooting my Great Eagle Bow with whatever subpar arrows they carve in Hyrule.”

Link takes the quiver gladly and starts scanning the horizon for something to shoot, his face full of giddy excitement. Revali puts his hands on Link’s shoulders, gently turning him in the direction of an apple tree. Not too far, but not too close to be an easy target. “Wait here,” he tells Link as he pulls a water canteen from his satchel and walks over to the tree. Once there he examines the trunk, deeming it a wide enough target. He pours some water into the dirt at the base, letting it soak in before he reaches down to scrape up some of the mud he made with his fingers. Carefully, he draws three lopsided circles on the trunk inside one another with an eye in the middle, a crude excuse for a practice target. It’ll do.

Revali walks back over to Link, who is licking his thumb to test the direction of the wind. While he is still distracted Revali can’t help himself from smearing what’s left of the mud on his fingers over Link’s right cheek and the bridge of his nose.

Link lets an in indignant squeak and reaches up to rub the mud from his face, succeeding in clearing most of it but leaving behind a light smearing across his cheek.

Revali just smirks in response and wipes his hands on the hem of his tunic. “Alright, fire off three shots.” He points to the target. “Keep in mind that I will be judging you harshly.”

Link makes a face as he nocks an arrow, something along the lines of “rude” and “what did I expect”. He’s still making the face when he looses it, and the arrow lands with a solid thunk just inside the middle circle of the target.

“Faster,” Revali says. “Most targets don't stand still.”

Link takes a deep breath and reaches behind for another arrow. He nocks this one and fires in one smooth motion, a bit slow in Revali’s opinion, and watches it land inside the outermost circle. Link quickly reaches for a third and fires it again, just as quickly as the seconomy, but it lands on the edge of the outermost circle. Revali can tell that Link is trying not to look embarrassed when he turns to him and awaits judgment.

Revali hums thoughtfully as he considers the three arrows, Link’s posture, and the way his fingers are tapping nervously against the bow. “You’re not bad.” Revali says finally, to which Link is taken aback. “But you’re not a natural, either. There’s skill in you, we’ll just have to work at it.”

Link nods and smiles.     

"Firstly, your stance.” Revali starts circling Link slowly, motioning for him to raise the bow. Link nocks another arrow, raises it and holds his position. “You pause in between pulling up your bow and loosing your arrow. Those are precious seconds.” He reaches out and grips Link’s elbow, adjusting the angle of it and therefore the direction of the arrow. “This needs to be second nature to you. You need to be able to snap into it and your arrow should always fly true from this position.”

Link pulls his lower lip between his teeth and furrows his brow as he tries to concentrate on his posturr, his eye still fixed on the target.

Revali hadn’t realized he was slowly inching closer as he circled Link, but they were barely a breadth apart now. He could smell every part of the Hylian from here, the light chemical stench that came with new Snowquill, the faint hint of sweat. He could hear the intake of breath through his nose, clearly see the rise and fall of his chest. But even as Revali’s breath raises goose bumps along the back of Link’s neck, he doesn’t stop there. He closes the last of the distance between them, approaching Link from the side and pressing chest to back.

Link tenses, but makes no move to push Revali away, his eyes stubbornly focused on the tree. Slowly, giving him the chance to say no, Revali raises one hand to lay over Link’s, the one that grips the bow. He brings his other hand up to cradle Link’s elbow along the arm that holds the arrow. There’s heat between them, sudden and nearly unbearable as Revali presses as close as he dares. He’s a good head taller than Link, something he guiltlessly uses to his advantage as he looms over the Hylian, letting the soft plumage of his neck tickle over the pointed tips of Link’s ears. “Think of it as aiming not the arrow, but your body.”

From their close proximity, Revali can see his words send a shiver down Link’s spine. At some point Link’s body had slackened slightly, and he quickly reaffirms his stance, stiffening his back and his shoulders, even as red blooms across his cheeks to the ends of his ears.

“Just like that,” Revali continues to whisper, fully aware of the tremors he sends across Link’s skin. Feeling daring, he lets the hand resting over Link’s on the bow skim along the skinny Hylian’s arm, applying just enough pressure to be felt through the padding of the Snowquill. He follows the underside of Link’s arm and then slowly down his side. At the same time, he lets his other hand, the one on Link’s elbow, follow that arm to Link’s armpit, and down his opposite side. “Keep that elbow high,” It’s quieter than a whisper this time as the tip of his beak brushes the tip of Link’s ear. Once both hands are at Link’s hips, settled in a close imitation of a lover’s embrace, Revali tells him, “Memorize this feeling.”

And to break the spell, he nips Link’s earlobe, fast and sharp.

Whatever trance Link had fallen into is broken and the arrow goes flying. Revali doesn’t see where it lands, but he distantly registers the sound of it hitting the tree trunk as Link collapses in his arms, his knees suddenly weak with an undignified yelp. Revali barely catches him in time, breaking out into laughter as he slowly lowers Link onto the ground.

“I’m sorry, really, I am,” Revali manages to choke out in between laughs as Link hunches over like he has a stomachache and buries his face in his hands. “Perhaps that was a bit forward of me.”

Link stays where he is on the ground, hunched over himself and taking in deep gulps of air as if he’d been holding his breath. He still doesn’t look at Revali as he signs with shaky fingers, _You’re cruel._

“I know, I know.” Revali allows himself one last laugh before he crouches down and reaches out, gently grabbing Link’s sides in an attempt to help pull him up. “Come on, I’ll behave myself, I promise.” He says when he’s met with resistance.

Link shakes his head, and his face is redder than Revali’s ever seen it, which Revali previously thought impossible. “Are you okay?” He asks, genuinely worried that he’d gone too far now.

 _Fine,_ Link signs, but refuses to meet his eyes. He sits up at least, but remains slightly hunched, pulling his coat a bit tighter across his lap before he continues. _I’m just going to need… Need a minute…_

“Uh.” Revali cocks his head in confusion. And then it dawns on him. “Oh.” He says, quickly taking his hands off Link’s sides. “You need a minute, huh?”

 _A minute,_ Link repeats, looking up to scowl at Revali as he goes back to tugging at the hem of his jacket.

“I’ll give you ten.” Revali says with a smile that betrays just a hint of playful pride. He settles himself on the ground, a respectable arms length away from Link, and occupies his busy hands with the Great Eagle Bow that Link had dropped near his feet. He’s not sure if he actually feels guilty anymore, and feels comfortable telling Link as much, “I’m not sure that I’m sorry.”

Link rolls his eyes with an impossible amount of sass. _I know. Idiot._

* * *

Link takes his time “calming down” and they go back to their lesson. As promised, Revali behaves himself like a true gentleman, his touches strictly professional. But the sun was setting before the lesson even began and Revali only has another half hour or so to coach Link’s marksmanship before it’s too dark to continue.

In the interest of time, Revali lets Link hang onto the Great Eagle Bow as he flies them both back to the village. They’ve missed dinner, which is a darn tragedy, but they manage to swipe some leftovers from the kitchen that are still warm. Revali has Link bundle up two servings of gourmet meat and rice bowls before he flies them up to his roost instead of taking the stairs.

Revali has no doubt that if they run into Colly, she’ll be able to use some mystical third eye to see right through them and their new “friendship”, which is an inevitability he’d rather deal with tomorrow.

No reason to spoil a perfect mood, Revali muses to himself as Link sets the Great Eagle Bow on its mount in the roost.

“So,” Revali says as he unwraps the cloth covering over one of the bowls of meat and rice, “Accomplished a lot today.”

Link hums in agreement, but his hands are otherwise occupied with the buttons of his jacket. He lets it slip from his shoulders, draping the coat over the back of a nearby chair, leaving him in a tight, sleeveless tunic. Link drops down onto the bed, toeing off his boots and the socks before he reaches for his own dinner.

Revali nods absentmindedly to himself and pokes at his dinner, opting to jump into his hammock where he regularly takes his meals.

Minutes pass in contented silence while Revali and Link eat. It’s a comfortable silence; one that neither feels pressured to fill with small talk. It’s been a long day, and Revali’s brain is only starting to catch up. He and Link were… intended. Bonded. Speaking of which.

“Link.” Revali clears his throat and sets aside the last bits of his dinner, feeling full all of a sudden. Link has a spoonful of rice and meat halfway to his mouth when he looks over. “I have to, uh.” Revali strains his reach to set the bowl on the nearby desk. “Well. I need to confess something.”

Link brings the food the rest of the way to his mouth and nods for Revali to go on, chewing with an unconcerned look on his face.

“Well.” Revali steels himself and motions to the headpiece Link has tucked behind his ear. More specifically, the three grey feathers. “There’s something I should have told you sooner.”

Link rolls his eyes and then rolls his hand, meaning for Revali to hurry up, before scraping the bottom of his bowl and taking another bite of food.

You’re being silly, Revali tells himself. He clears his throat one more time. “The feathers I gave you. I should have been up front with you. In Rito culture, to wear another’s feathers in your headdress means that you two are engaged in courtship. Intended.” Revali shrugs, feeling just the slightest bit guilty. “It was rude of me to put them in your hair without telling you.”

Link shrugs and sets his bowl on the desk, next to Revali’s. He keeps Revali waiting for a few agonizing seconds as he brushed the crumbs from his shirt and his hands. Finally he sits back down on the bed, facing Revali this time, and signs, _Yeah, I already knew that._

Revali can’t help sounding shocked. “You knew?”

 _I can read, you know,_ Link signs and quirks a single eyebrow. _Books. About the Rito people._

“Why didn’t you say anything?”

Link shrugs it off. He reaches up, gently unclipping the gold ornament from his hair and with it the three feathers in questions. He holds them in his hands, gently tracing the feathers before depositing them safely on the desk. _I thought it best to let you tell me when you were ready._ Link smiles innocently, but his eyes are absolutely devilish when he signs, _I didn’t want to scare you off._

“Excuse. Me.” Revali emphasizes each word with a click of his beak, crossing his arms over his chest in an action that is not at all petulant. “I do not get _scared off_.” He clicks his beak, both saying and signing the last two words as sarcastically as he can.

Link just continues smirking. _Anything else you want to get off your chest?_

“Well,” Revali grumbles, shifting uncomfortably in his hammock. Apologies are generally outside his comfort, but being bull headed is no way to treat one’s intended. “About earlier, when I was acting... forward.”

_That’s one way to put it._

“Well, I made a promise.” Revali sighs. “And I intend to keep it. I apologize for that, if it was too bold of me. It won't happen again.” He adds quickly, "Without your consent."

Revali desperately wants to look away from Link, but knows that would be the equivalent of covering his ears. So he compromises by eyeing the desk, the empty bowls and gold ornament with his feathers, while keeping Link in the corner of his gaze.

Link thinks this over for a few moments, leaving Revali to hang in his uncertainty. Finally, he snaps his fingers to get Revali’s attention. _Do you desire me?_ He signs, and then quickly amends, _Desire me... Like that?_

“If you mean physically…” Revali scratches the back of his neck absentmindedly, a nervous habit he thought he’d kicked. “Obviously. Yes. A lot.” He wants to throw himself out a window. “A lot”? How very seductive.

Link nods as he considers this. _Okay,_ Link signs and slaps his knees as he stands. Revali watches with confusion as Link goes to the entrance of the roost and reaches up, gently tugging at the string that hangs from the ceiling, unfurling the thick cloth that acts a doorway. It uncurls on itself and falls gently to brush the floor.

Revali suspects he’s having a heart attack. What in Calamity is Link doing? “Link, what in Calamity are you doing?”

 _How would it work?_ Link signs before he moves on to the next curtain, rolled and tied above the window. He pulls the string that hangs down on this as well, letting it fall to cover the window. _Between the two of us?_ He adds before moving on to the next window and the next curtain.

“Well,” Revali sits up a bit straighter in his hammock and tries to mask his nervousness with sass. “Avoiding pregnancy would be the first concern.”

Link shoots a sarcastic look over his shoulder as he moves on to the next curtain, pulling the string and dropping it too.

Revali watches him, his heart hammering in his chest. It's so loud, surely Link can hear it too. “I cannot hold you as Hylians do one another,” Revali admits hesitantly, fully aware that he's the one being circled like prey this time.

Link pulls the last string, dropping down the last curtain that separates Revali’s roost from the rest of the world. The curtains are typically used during heavy storms or cold weather. The night is chilly, and with Link’s featherless skin no one would think twice about the curtains. Link just nods and slowly makes his way back around the bed to stand in front of Revali’s hammock. The curtains block out most of the light, but streaks of moonlight slip between the cracks, illuminating enough of the roost that after their eyes have adjusted, Revali and Link hold a tense eye contact.

His courage renewed by Link’s obvious intentions, Revali reaches up a hand, gently caressing the Hylian’s cheek with his feathers. “But there are things we could do.” He whispers, savoring the heat he feels under Link’s skin.

 _Show me,_ Link signs. Before Revali can react, Link's hand snaps out, grabbing Revali by his Champion's Scarf, of all things, and yanking him bodily from the hammock with a squawk.

Link falls backwards onto the bed and Revali comes crashing down on top of him, barely catching himself with two hands on either side of Link’s head, their legs tangled together. Link’s hand is still fisted in his scarf and Revali thinks that Zelda would have an aneurysm if only she knew.

“Wait, are you–” Revali’s mind races to catch up. The heat between them doesn’t help, Revali covering Link almost bodily with only a few inches between their chests. “Are you sure?”

Link keeps his hand in Revlai’s scarf and nods. His cheeks are pink but his eyes are focused. His pupils blown.

“Have you ever...?”

 _No,_ Link cranes his neck up, giving the junction between Revali's shoulder and neck an experimental nuzzle that chips further at Revali’s resolve to do the gentlemanly thing.

“Are you sure?” He asks. One last time, just to be certain. 

Link snorts out a laugh and nods.

_Just don’t expect any fancy tricks._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Figures, my longest chapter would be the one with the sexually suggestive content. I don't know how it would "work" between a Rito and a Hylian exactly... But if people really want me to try, I could post a separate one shot after the series is complete! 
> 
> Thanks for hanging in there with me! Lots of love to my readers, kudos-givers, and reviewers! 
> 
> Can this story still be rated G???


	18. Chapter 18

Revali wakes first, and it’s to the wonderfully pleasant feeling of Link’s elbow in his face. He has never paid particular attention to the way Link sleeps when he’s not dying of hypothermia, but evidently the kid is a tosser. All pointy joints, this one.

As carefully as possible, Revali guides Link’s elbow away from his jaw, tucking it against his side between the two of them. They’d fallen sleep on opposite ends of the bed last night after having worked up the equivalent of a sauna behind the thick fabric of the curtains. Sometime in the night they must have gravitated towards the middle of the bed (not that it was an expansive distance) to end up as tangled as they are, with Link buried in Revali’s side. They’re both still naked, pressed chest to chest, and Revali indulges himself in a few moments of appreciation, gently brushing the tips of his feathers across the bare skin of Link’s shoulders. Link must have kicked off the blanket at some point, overheated and sweaty as he is now. Revali notes the stickiness of the Hylian skin pressed against him with a general sound of disgust. Carefully, he untangles Link’s impossibly long and greedy arms from his person until he can get out of bed.

First order of business is to open one of the curtains around the roost. Revali purposefully picks the one that faces away from the village, overlooking Totori Lake, and the relief is almost immediate. It’s early and the morning still crisp. Thank Hylia, Revali thinks to himself as he ruffles his feathers, allowing the breeze to cool his skin beneath. As he does so, he catches something curious in the air. Lifting an arm, Revali gives himself an experimental sniff.

He smells, poignantly and undeniably, like sex. More specifically like salty Hylian musk. And now that Revali has the fresh morning breeze for comparison, he realizes the entire roost smells thick and heavy. He should have opened at least one curtain last night – would have, were he not boneless and dead tired by the end of it all.

Immediately, Revali’s thoughts go to last night. The way Link shivered and whimpered beneath him as he drew feathers up and down his back and sides, torturously slow as he memorized very notch of his spine and bump of his ribs. A pity, really, if Revali had been just a bit crueler he might have performed the minor miracle of forcing a spoken “please” past those pretty lips. Next time, he thinks to himself.

Revali’s filthy train of thought is derailed when Link quietly snuffles in his sleep, turning into the newly opened space on the bed and quickly spreading out. Revali considers crawling back into bed to join him, but the morning chill was enough to shock his system, and he doubts he’d be able to sleep if he tried. So Revali does the gentlemanly thing instead, and decides he’ll bring his intended breakfast in bed. The only thing that could improve the morning after a night with Revali was a Wildberry Crepe with honey drizzle. But first, the smell.

Revali opens a second curtain, also facing out over the lake. It should be enough to air out the roost. It makes the roost a bit cold, but hopefully it will air out the room by the time Revali is back with breakfast and he can close them halfway again. He grabs the edge of the blanket from the floor and tosses it over Link, underneath which he finds his tunic from the night before in a haphazard pile with Link’s Snowquill trousers. With a smirk, Revali pulls the tunic over his head and goes to the door.

He’s whistling to himself as he pushes the curtain aside and nearly runs directly into Colly, who is undeniably eavesdropping.

Neither of them move for a few moments, fully aware they’ve caught each other doing something shameful. Later, Revali will blame the night’s activities for making him content and sluggish. He’s not normally that easy to sneak up on. Colly will maintain she did nothing wrong.

“You’re spying on me?” He whispers incredulously.

“You’ve lain with the Hero of Hyrule, personal Champion of the Crown Princess Zelda of Hyrule, mortal incarnate of the Goddess Hylia.” Colly whispers back, as if titles prove her point. As if the evidence wasn't already undeniable. 

Eventually, Revali’s shame wins out and he breaks eye contact, stepping outside to let the curtain fall behind him. Colly is suddenly all smiles as she presses her hands to her cheeks, absolutely giddy.

Revali shoots her a glare and nods his head in the direction of the village. Colly leads the way across the boardwalk to the main walkway, but the second they’re out of earshot of a sleeping Link, she rounds on him.

“Sweet Hylia and the Six Sages above!” She stage whispers to him. “I make one joke about the two of you dating and within a day you’ve taken him to bed?!”

It’s early enough that there aren’t many people out and about in the village yet, so Revali motions for them to start walking. He shrugs, poorly feigning modesty as he puffs his chest feathers. “What part of it do you find surprising?”

“None of it. All of it.” Colly throws her hands up in the air with a scoff. “I can’t believe it. So, are you two, what do the Hylians call it? Friendly sexing?”

Revali makes a face. “I don’t know what term you mean, but I’m almost certain you said it wrong.” When Colly makes a face at him he smirks. “But if you must know, as of yesterday, we are officially intended.”

“Holy Hylia and all Her children, I never thought I’d see the day,” Colly says to the sky. “How? How did this all happen in one day?”

They’re at the kitchen now, where the communal meals are prepared. It’s thankfully empty, and Revali starts gathering what he needs to make the crepes. Wilberries, an egg, cane sugar. From somewhere behind him, Colly hands him a bottle of fresh milk with an expectant face.

“A gentleman does not kiss and tell about his intended.” Revali brushes her off as he bends down to light a fire beneath the nearest cooking pit.

Colly huffs. “It’s not like I’m asking whether he choked on it or not.”

“Colly!”

“I’m not!” Colly asserts again, setting a jar of crushed Tabantha Wheat on the table next to the other ingredients. “Besides, I thought we were friends.”

“We are,” Revali mumbles as he drops a pad of butter onto a frying pan. “Why are you so crude? You should have tea and pastries with Urbosa sometime, you’d be perfect for each other.”

“I’ll assume this Urbosa is equally caring and loving and invested in your happiness as I am then-“

“You mean equally nosy.”

“Semantics.” Colly dismisses him and starts mixing the ingredients together as Revali dips the berries into a bowl of water to clean them. “Spill. I know you want to.”

Revali rolls his eyes and watches the butter brown in the pan. She’s not wrong. Colly will certainly be the death of him someday, knowing him as well as she does.

“It just sort of. Popped out.” Revali shrugs. “I told him I loved him and wanted to become intended to each other.”

“And?” Colly passes him the bowl of crepe batter. “What did he say?”

“Well, he didn’t really say much.” Revali frowned. He turned to Colly, adopting a concerned expression. “He actually didn’t say anything.”

“Revali-”

“He just started waving his hands, making these weird motions.”

“Revali.”

“Oh Goddess, do you think he was having a seizure?” Revali asked, maintaining his panicked tone of voice as he reached for the crepe batter.

“Talk to you long enough and _anyone_ will start finding a seizure preferable.” Colly accuses him. “In fact, you’re giving me a seizure right now.”

“You break my heart, Columba.” Revali tells her, putting one hand dramatically over his chest. “Where's the spatula?”

Colly mumbles something along the lines of “up your ass”, but nonetheless she produces a wooden spatula from a nearby drawer, so Revali lets it go. She watches him wordlessly as he pours a bit of the batter into the pan.

A few minutes of silence pass between them as they listen to the sounds of sizzling butter and crepe batter. A sweet smell starts to fill the kitchen. “You want one?” When Colly doesn’t answer, Revali rolls his eyes. For all his stubbornness, Colly has him bested and he knows it. “Fine.” He sighs. “What do you want to know?”

“Everything.”

“You’ll get the fledgling-friendly version and nothing more.”

“Deal.” Colly say, and plucks one of the wildberries from the bowl. “And a crepe.”

Revali rolls his eyes. “We were practicing his marksmanship,” he says, not really wanting to get into the extra trouble of explaining the Sheikah Slate. “And we were having fun. Enjoying each other. It felt right, so I just said it.”

“And?”

“And.” Revali drags the word out as he moves the finished crepe to a nearby plate where Colly starts filling it with wildberries. “And then he asked to use my Great Eagle Bow. As a boon. So I let him.”

“And?” Colly asks, more insistently this time.

Revali smirks. “And then he asked to use my _Great Eagle Bow_ ,” he says, his tongue curling around the term with a suggestive wiggle of his eyebrows.

In his defense, Revali really couldn’t help himself.

“Oh. Oh, good Goddess,” Colly says, slapping her hands over her face. “Revali, you’re disgusting,” she laments. “And your puns are horrible. Really, really horrible.”

“Link had no complaints. Not that he could communicate them, with his whole body shaking like that.” Revali can’t help but add, because he truly has a death wish.

Colly swings a nearby towel at his head in response, which catches his shoulder when he tries to dodge it. “You must have been his first then, if he has nothing good to compare the bad to.”

Neither Revali or Colly notice that Loriini had entered the kitchen (despite the telltale creaking of her joints that Revali normally likes to point out), until she said aloud, “What’s with all this happiness? Stop it, right now.”

“Nothing.” Revali says once he’s got his laughter under control. “You’re up early,” he says, moving to give her a one-armed embrace, the frying pan held in the other.

“Might as well get in as many mornings as I can before I croak like a Hot Footed Frog.” Loriini shrugs, patting Revali on the back. “Where's the Hylian you’re hiding from me, now?”

“I’m not hiding anyone.” Revali says in defense as he slips another crepe onto the plate. “We’ve just been busy.”

“You’re hiding something.” The old bird mumbles suspiciously.

“You’re imagining things, in your old age.” Revali shrugs.

Loriini’s head whips around to Colly, who is grinning like the Lynel that caught the cow. “What is he hiding?”

“Oh, nothing.” Colly shrugs. “He just maybe might have made Link, Hyrule’s Champion and Princess Zelda’s loyal knight, his intended. And deflowered him beneath the light of the moon.”

Revali has never hit a hen before. But he considers it now, seeing as technically it would be the frying pan doing the actual hitting.

Loriini takes this information with a carefully neutral face, nodding to herself. Colly looks immensely pleased with herself as she pops another wildberry in her stupidly big mouth.

“Hm.” Loriini eventually says. “Let us hope your talent in bed makes up for how much of a hassle you are in everything else.” 

* * *

Link is awake but steadfastly buried beneath the blankets when Revali returns from the kitchen, balancing two plates of wildberry crepes. “Up and at ‘em.” Revali puts the plates on the desk, and satisfied with the air quality of the roost, goes about lowering the curtains again.

“I’ve brought breakfast,” Revali says, dropping down on the edge of the bed before taking a plate for himself. “Come on, up."

A general, probably dissatisfied grunt, rumbles from beneath the blankets, but Link makes no move to sit up. This had been a much more romantic idea in Revali’s head, which, fine, who was he kidding. But he finds a smile on his face all the same.

“I understand.” Revali sighs out. He doesn’t even have to fake the pride in his voice. “After a long, passionate night with me, you must be exhausted. Your every limb boneless, your only thought being my name and the pleasure I allow you-”

Link snaps upright like a coiled spring, his face a pleasant shade of light pink as he gives Revali a solid shove with one arm. When Revali simply laughs in return, Link gives him another shove, followed by a light punch to the shoulder.

“Link, stop!” Revali yells, raising his plate out of Link’s reach while trying to keep them all balanced. “You’re scaring the crepes!”

The mention of food seems to get him, because Link immediately calms down, falling back on his butt. He puffs out his cheeks in a pout and holds out an open palm.

“You sure you don't want to get dressed first? You’re looking a little…” Revali motions towards Link’s chest with his fork, two spots in particular. “Cold.”

 _P-e-r-v-e-r-t,_ Link spells out with a scowl before grabbing the hem of the blanket and pulling it up to cover his chest.

Revali shrugs and passes Link his plate of crepes with extra honey. “You weren’t complaining last night.”

He is steadfastly ignored, because when food is present, Link can’t be bothered anything else, much less preserving his modesty. The blanket falls back into his lap, and Revali catches another whiff of Hylian sweat.

“You stink,” he says matter of factly.

Link raises an eyebrow at him as he chews.

“Okay, we both stink.” Revali amends, aware that while the power of Hylian smell isn’t quite on par with a Rito’s, the smell between them is strong enough that it doesn’t really make a difference. “So, maybe we should bathe.”

Link sets the plate down in his lap long enough to respond: _Sure. After we eat. You have baths in the village?_

“Rito don't exactly bathe like Hylians do. But there’s a private spot we can go, just us.” Revali waves in the general direction with his fork. “Think we should get out of the village for a bit.”

Link gives him a suspicious look.

“No reason,” Revali mumbles out, spearing a wildberry with his fork. He doesn't exactly want to spend the day around Colly with her knowing smirks, and Lorinii has no doubt already ratted to his father. When Revali sees that Link is still giving him a look, he throws a wing around the skinny Hylian shoulders, gently tugging him to his side. “Can’t I want to spend some alone time with my intended?” He asks, gently rubbing his chin along the top of Link’s head.

Revali feels Link shrug against him, but also feels him curling into the sideways embrace with a content hum. 

* * *

 Revali’s spot is a fair distance north of the village, past the flight range and over Lake Kilsie. Rather than taking the time to set a course on Medoh, he has Link pack a bag of soap and fresh clothes for the both of them. The flight is no more than fifteen minutes. Revali could have easily cut it under ten if he’d zig zagged along the currents. But he’s found that Link likes to sit up on his back, looking out and over as far as he can, so he tries to keep himself as steady as possible.

Once they were above their desitination, Revali couldn’t help himself as he yelled, “Going down!” And immediately plunged into a nose dive.         

If Link screamed at all, it wasn’t loud enough to be heard over the wind, but he did throw his arms around Revali’s neck in a chokehold.

“I thought you’d have more trust in me by now,” Revali comments casually as they near the ground. He lets his feathers unfold and bear down so that they land upright on their feet, and Link slides from his back looking a bit dazed.

Link shakes his head and rubs his eyes, watery from the sting of the wind. Should probably get the boy some goggles, the goofier the better. _Where are we?_ He signs once his vision is cleared and he can take in the snowy surroundings.

“A secret hot spring.” Revali declares proudly, puffing out his chest feathers and putting his hands on his hips. “I discovered it on my first adventure outside the village as a fledgling. Would you like to hear the tale?”

 _Not really,_ Link signs halfheartedly.

“Sure you do.” Revali replies, unbothered. “I actually discovered it with the first Hylian I’d ever met.”

That seems to get Link’s attention.

Revali motions for Link to follow him, and leads the way through the snow they’d landed in towards the hot spring. It sat at the bottom of a large basin at the foot of a mountain, a secret heat surrounded by snow and cold blown over from the Hebra region. Revali leads Link towards the dock, which he had carefully constructed himself years ago. “It comes from a waterfall in the mountain, there.” He points to a large crevice in the mountain face where the water flows in from, which Link takes in with wide eyes.

“Anyway, one day a Hylian comes to the village. I’d never seen a Hylian before. His name was Sturnida.” Revali motions for Link to start undressing as he gently removes his Great Eagle Bow and shucks his own tunic. “An adventurer from Castle Town who was seeking the Hebra Great Skeleton. He was looking for fast passage over the mountain range between the village and here. At that time of year the winds were too dangerous for any Rito to try it, much less with a passenger.”

Revali sees Link smiling to himself, like knows what’s coming next, as he undoes the straps on his boots.

“I was always a strong flyer, but of course my father immediately forbid me from trying. But the way Sturnida talked about his adventures and all the places he’d seen, I had to go. So naturally, I lied to Sturnida and told him it was alright, and I flew him over the mountain range.”

Link rolls his eyes. _You could have died,_ he signs.

“We made the trip effortlessly.” Revali replies, only half-lying. “And we came across this hot spring at the time. But we parted ways here. Rito aren’t exactly suited for climbing mountains, and the winds were too strong even for me. So we said our goodbyes.”

Revali folds his clothing and stacks them in a neat pile, carefuly to lay his bow on top as a weight to keep them from being blown into the water. He wears less clothing than Link normally and the air is chilly, so he slips into the hot spring first, letting the warmth swallow him up as the steam clings to his face feathers.

 _Then what?_ Link signs, and quickly peels off his pants, followed by his warm doublet and his shirt. He seems to pause, thinking twice about his undergarments.

“I’ve seen it all already,” Revali comments neutrally as Link shivers on the dock.

Link shoots him a quick glare and quickly pulls them off too, tossing them into his much messier pile. He puts the Master Sword on top of it all, and slides into the water. A loud sigh escapes him as he submerges up to his ears.

“Nice, right?” Revali asks. Rito are not strong swimmers by nature, preferring to bathe by splashing themselves with water. But with the air being as cold as it is, he chooses a shallow spot along the edge of the pool to sit, submerged up to his neck. Immediately he feels heavy with the water weight, but he’s trained himself to enjoy it rather than panic at the thought of drowning.

Link splashes around in the pool for a bit, beaming to himself as he pops below and above the water. When the novelty of the hot spring has worn off and the immediate area has been explored, Link slowly swims back to where Revali is sitting in the shallows. Link slides up, putting his back to Revali’s front and leans into his chest. _Go on with your story,_ Link signs to him, his hands to the side so Revali can see.

“Well, he started climbing, over there.” Revali points out the spot in the mountain, a fair distance away to the northeast. He remembers it like it was yesterday, could never forget. “He said he would return in exactly a month’s time, and promised that if he found the skeleton he would bring me back a tooth.”

Revali goes quiet at this bit. He’s never told this part of the story out loud. When he doesn’t continue, Link turns halfway, enough to look up at Revali. _And?_

“I came back, in a month’s time, to this spot. I waited a week. And I came back every month after for nearly a year.”

Link’s face goes soft and a little sad as realization dawns on him.

“He fell.” Revali offers with a shrug. He reaches out to pat Link’s head, gently guiding it to rest on his shoulder, where Link can’t see his face or the ghost of hurt in his eyes. “A traveller came through Rito Village two years later from Snowfield Stable. Apparently Sturnida had been found by another group of adventurers also looking for the Great Skeleton, as fate would have it.” Revali rests his chin on the top of Link’s head and hums quietly. “They buried him where they found him and turned back after that.”

Link, smartly, doesn’t say anything, but buries a bit deeper into Revali’s chest.

“But that was a long time ago. So, I named this place after him.” Revali points to the steep wall where he’d last seen his friend. “Sturnida Basin and Sturnida Secret Hot Spring.”

For a bit, Link doesn’t say anything. He gently weaves his hands through the water around them, creating ripples and waves. The sound of the water and the reassuring heat lulls Revali into a half sleep as he reaches out to lay his arms beneath Link’s, weaving their fingers together. Link cranes his neck to look up and back at Revali, just enough to plant a gentle kiss along the side of his beak.

Revali replies by nuzzling into Link’s neck. “Come on,” he whispers along the skin. “Let’s get clean.”

Link reaches up to the dock, his skin immediately igniting in goose bumps, and retrieves a bar of soap from the bag of things they’d brought along. Revali stays in the shallow water, rising out just enough to shake his feathers. When Link offers him the soap bar, he shakes his head. “Just need to get a good shake in with water.” He explains, preening his wings.

Link shrugs and starts lathering his hair.

Seeing that his eyes are closed, Revali takes the opportunity to sneak up on Link, who is standing in a deeper part of the pool so the water comes up to his stomach. Deciding he can’t miss this opportunity, Revali glides quietly through the water until he can grab Link around the hips and yank him backwards into his lap.

Link squawks, his arms waving as he falls backwards with soap in his eyes.           

"So.” Revali buries his face in Link’s neck again, his hands splaying across the Hylian’s chest. “Are you going to let me bathe you? It’s only right that I take responsibility after dirtying you last night.”

 _Revali, stop that right now!_ Link is signing so quickly that he’s flinging soap suds everywhere. Revali resigns himself to the fact that he’ll have to wash himself again. _Cut it out!_

“Come on.” Revali pouts. “Just a little grab ass. It’s what Sturnida would want.”

_You’re going to go to Calamity for saying that._

“If Hylia could see what a cute butt you’ve got, I’m sure she would forgive me.” Revali smirks and Link easily falls back into his arms.

 _Hands off_ , Link signs before dunking his head to wash away the soap. When he comes back up he makes no move to push Revali away.

Revali gently nudges Link’s head with his own, rubbing their cheeks together. “Not in a hundred years.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's all fluff and cuddles in this chapter! Unfortunately, not so much in the next one.


	19. Chapter 19

Revali and Link spend the majority of the morning at the hot spring, basking in the warmth. Only after Link’s Hylian skin began to prune did they force themselves out, dressing as quickly as they could in the clean clothes they’d brought along. After that, Revali has the wonderful idea that Link should practice archery again, this time with the stronger winter winds from the mountain to train against. Their time together is easy and simple, as it was the day before, and they easily lose track of time until their bellies are telling them it must be past lunch time. With reluctance, they pack their belongings and Link climbs on Revali’s back for the ride home. Revali uses his Gale to shoot them into the sky, laughing the entire way up as Link clings to his back for dear life.

The flight home is easy enough, the winds calm and strong. Revali sees it first, with his superior eyes, as they cross Lake Kilsie. Five specks in the distance, large enough and flying in such a way that they could only be Rito. As they grow closer, Revali picks up the shrill sound of frantic bird cries.

Revali had been right when he’d suspected that things were too simple lately. Normally, he loves being right. Thrives off it.

Not this time.

* * *

“He says he has a message from the Princess,” Colly is trying to say, but neither Revali nor Link is really listening.

As soon as they landed in the village, Link had taken off across the flight deck, sprinting faster than Revali had ever seen him move. Even in battle, Link only moves as fast as he has to, dodging around his enemies but reserving his strength for what yet may come. Now, he sprints like there’s nothing left to lose, his feet thumping against the wood of the boardwalk as he takes the steps four at a time up to the Elder’s Roost.

“Link, wait!” Revali calls. He can’t run quite as fast as Link, but he can give himself a flying leap up the stairs with his wings, and even then he’s still a few feet behind Link as they come up to the Elder’s Roost. He turns back to Colly, who’s following as closely behind as she can. “When did he get here?”

“Maybe two hours ago?” Colly pants, out of breath from the flight home and chasing her friends up the stairs and through the village. “He said it was an emergency and he needed to see Link immediately, but we didn’t know where you’d gone and-”

Up ahead, Link disappears around the corner into the Elder’s Roost, with Revali and Colly following suit behind him.

The Elder is there with another Rito. A young hen, Revali forgets her name, the neice of the shopkeeper he thinks. Whoever she is, she's already addressing Link.

“Are you Link? The Princess’s Champion?” Her voice is wracked with fatigue and fear.

Link nods once, decisively.

The Rito looks over Link’s shoulder and affords Revali a respectful head nod, which Revali does not bother returning. “We were told there was an emergency.” He grinds out instead.

“Yes,” The Rito nods, and begins fumbling for something in the pack slung over her shoulder. “I came from Gerudo Town. I flew all morning.”

At the mention of Gerudo Town, Revali’s gut turns to stone. It could not be a simple coincidence. He sees his father watching him out of the corner of his eye, his expression serious. He doesn’t make eye contact, instead fixed on the Rito as she clicks her beak in triumph, having apparently found what she’s looking for.

When the Rito pulls out a single gold medallion, Revali sees Link’s entire body go rigid. The Rito holds it out hesitantly towards Link. Her hand might even be shaking – to have one of these in your possession without the express permission of the Royal Family is a crime punishable by death.

Link reaches out to take the medallion, the movement slow and calculated. Revali can see that his arm is locked and his fingertips rigid, as if it’s the only thing keeping from shaking. Link takes the medallion in both hands, no larger than his palm, as he turns it over. It’s simple in design, smooth gold with the Wingcrest on one side. It is the official crest of the Royal Family, the Triforce above a Loftwing. Each member is given one at birth, a token of their heritage and proof of their bloodline. Assured of its authenticity, Link nods to Revali and the Elder.

“The Princess Zelda gave it to me, I swear!” The Rito chokes out, fumbling as she tries to get the words out as fast as possible. “I didn't steal it!”

“He believes you,” Revali says for Link. “What happened?”

“Gerudo Town was attacked,” The Rito says. “By the Yiga Clan.”

Revali didn’t think it possible, but Link’s spine becomes even straighter in his alarm, one hand instinctively falling to the hilt of the Master Sword as the name. Somewhere behind him, he hears Colly inhale sharply.

“What happened? What of the Princess?” Revali snaps without meaning to. Well, he partly means to, he hasn’t the time to prompt the Rito through every bit of her tale.

“I’m a trader,” The Rito explains, more so to Link than Revali. “I fly back and forth between Riot Village and Gerudo Town. This morning a few hours before dawn, the Yigo Clan attacked. I’m not sure when exactly, it was all chaos.”

“What about the Princess?” Revali repeats.

“She lives!” The Rito finally says. “At least, she was alive last I saw her… The Lady Urbosa allows me a room in the palace because I come to trade with her so often. One of the Yiga must have snuck into the Chieftan’s rooms and tried to kill the Princess in her sleep, but Lady Urbosa woke and fought him off. She killed him, but there were others spotted in the palace. After I left, the town was closed off so the Guard could go door to door and look for them.”

Link takes this all in silently, his face set in a determined expression as he stares down the Rito. Revali has never seen this look before. Even when they first met, Link regarded him with neutral detachment. This face though, there is a not so subtle hint of anger.

The Rito seems to notice as well. Se’s practically quaking, and honestly, Revali doesn’t blame her. If he were on the receiving end of that look, he’s not sure how well he’d fair either.

“Then what?” Revali interrupts, and the Rito startles. “How did you get the medallion?”

“Uh,” The Rito gulps audibly. “Lady Urbosa trusts me, and she knows that I’m fast on the winds. She and Princess Zelda asked me to come here, find Link, and tell him what happened. The Princess gave me the medallion so you would know I was being truthful.” At this the Rito trails off, slowly lowering her gaze to her feet. “The Princess… She was worried I might be attacked by the Yiga. She didn’t want to put me in danger, even though she was bleeding from her arm.”

A tense silence follows. Revali can’t think of anymore question, his mind instead racing to all of the worst possible scenarios. After a long many months of fighting the Yiga Clan, the traitorous faction of Sheikah had been thought dormant. To make a sudden strike like this was unexpected, particularly in the home of a Champion. They must be getting desperate enough to gamble, a gamble that very nearly paid off.

Without warning Link turns on his heel and marches out of the Roost, and Revali doesn’t even think twice about following after him.

Revali knows that any attempt to communicate will be ignored so he silently follows Link back to his own roost. At the very least, Link is no longer sprinting like his life depends on it, although he is walking very, very fast.

“Link, what are you going to do?” Revali asks once they have the privacy of his roost, although he think’s he already knows the answer.

 _I have to go,_ Link signs, and Revali barely catches it. His hand movements are fast and clipped in his hurry to communicate as he shucks his warm doublet and pulls his Champion’s Tunic out of his pack and over his head. Link starts going around the roost, pulling together his belongings and tossing them into his pack without a second thought.

“Okay,” Revali says. Link has to go to Zelda, he understands that, and would never dream of stopping him. “Give me ten minutes. I’ll ask Colly to pack us meals while I ready the horses.” He decides, and turns to do just that.

Revali doesn’t except Link’s hand to catch him at the elbow, and he looks back in confusion.

 _No,_ Link signs, slower this time. His face is perfectly neutral in a very purposeful way. _I need to go. Now._

“I know,” Revali says slowly, confused. “That’s why –”

 _No,_ Link signs again. _I need to be there now. I’m taking the Slate._

Revali doesn’t reply right away, assuming that Link is about to think twice as the words leave his mouth and abandon the idea as dangerous and unnecessary. But two more heartbeats pass, and Link’s face hasn’t changed.

“I forbid it,” Revali says and immediately he knows it was the wrong choice of words.

 _You forbid me nothing,_ Link signs with the same neutral face with which he describes the weather. He drops Revali’s arm and turns around to sit on the bed and pull on his Hylian boots.

“I’m sorry, that’s not what I meant.” Revali tries to take a deep breath. “But the Slate is too dangerous.” When he gets no response from Link, he tries instead, “Let me take you by wing, then. It will take about a day.”

Link is still sitting on the bed where he rests his elbows on his knees and clasps his hands. For a moment Revali thinks he’s won. “The Slate is too dangerous, and you know it.” He adds, to further strengthen his argument.

When Link finally looks up at him, there’s something in his eyes Revali does not recognize, and his stomach sinks. _Not if I have an anchor,_ Link signs.

Revali crosses his arms and shakes his head. “Link, you could barely teleport to an apple tree ten feet away. What could you possibly have memorized so well that you could use it to travel as far as Gerudo Town?”

As the last word leaves his mouth, Revali comes to the answer on his own. Oh. He lets his beak click shut. Not what. Who.

 _I’ve been from her side for too long,_ Link signs, his eyes downcast. _And in my absence she was injured. I must return to her._

"Link, you could not have known. She is safe with Urbosa now."

Link shakes his head in disbelief. _It is my duty to protect her_ _. It was an injury this time, but next time..._  After a long pause,  _I cannot allow myself to be distracted any longer._

To Revali’s credit, his heart does not audibly break. But there is a twinge, a pang of discomfort bordering on physical pain that shoots through his body. He is not a fool. “You mean to break our intention,” he says with a voice much more steady and strong than he feels.

 _With every day the Calamity draws closer,_ Link signs like it’s a valid excuse. He raises himself from the bed, takes a step closer to Revali but leaves an unmistakable space between them. _We each have our duties. Yours, to Medoh. Mine, to Princess Zelda and Hyrule._

“I’ll take that as a yes, then.” Revali says more to himself than Link, and another sensation of discomfort throbs in his chest. He has not felt this sort of feeling in a long time. Revali lets out a heavy breath, unfolds his arms to let them hang at his side.

“I will not fight or beg you, Link. Even now, I have my pride.” Revali wonders to himself if that is a lie.

Link just nods, his face solemn. He turns, away from Revali, and goes back to packing his things. He does not ask for food or water, any sort of ration to keep him alive if the Slate were to drop him off in the wrong part of the desert. Link will be able to find Zelda even hallway across the continent, Revali does not doubt that.

Time passes like that, as Revali stands numbly, trying to sort through the emotions and the pains in his chest as Link forces the last of his belongings into his satchel. What's happening is only starting to catch up with him now, as Link is readying himself to depart, and suddenly there is anger in his chest like he’s never known. He wants to scream, to fly from his own roost and never look back, to hunt and kill Moblins. He wants many things but even now in his hurt, Revali finds that he wants Link most of all.

But he was right about his pride at least. So, Revali swallows the lump of mud in his throat and says lamely, “I wish you easy travels.”

If Link is surprised by the cordial farewell, he doesn’t let it show. He nods and buckles the top of his pack closed, slinging it over his shoulder. _I’ll send a raven,_ he signs. _To let you know I have made it safely._

“Kindly do so.”

Link looks to Revali’s desk, eyeing the Slate, his last belonging left in the roost. Revali follows his gaze, taking in the brown stone and dull glow of the old technology, pointedly thinking about nothing else.

Link snaps his fingers for his attention. When Revali finally forces himself to look Link in the eyes, he sees a mix of things. Guilt. Regret, perhaps? For how this ends, or for having allowed it to happen in the first place, Revali does not know.

 _I am sorry,_ Link signs with a tight fist, making a circle over his chest. Revali knows that one by heart.

“I know.” Revali forces out, and doesn’t dare say anything more. He can’t guarantee that the next words won’t be born of spite.

 _These past few days,_ Link signs slowly. _They have been the best of my life._

Revali says it before he can think; “You wouldn’t be leaving if they had been.”

There’s a flash of hurt across Link’s face, but none of the anger that Revali can feel on his own. Goddess, he knew it was wrong, but seeing the pain in Link’s face made his feel just a bit lighter.

 _I do not regret our time together,_ Link signs.

At that, Revali is almost certain that the stabbing pain in his heart must have made a sound like an arrow imbedding itself in a tree.

“You needn’t lie for me, Link.” Revali says without thinking. Every word he says comes from his heart now. Honest and raw. Hurt.

A single tear wells at the corner of one of Link’s big blue eyes, and it’s so horrifically cliché that if it were anyone else Revali would have smacked him. Make a snarky comment or shake his head with a laugh. But, because it’s Link, he reaches out instead and gently wipes away the tear before it can escape.

“Such sadness is unbefitting your beauty,” Revali whispers, letting his fingers linger against the cheek he’d been kissing just this morning. He doesn’t know why he says it or what good could come from it. It was simply what he was thinking.

Link leans into the touch and closes his eyes. Breathes once, twice, and the moment is gone. Revali lets his hand drop, and when Link opens his eyes again, whatever sadness had been there before is gone. He reaches instead for the Slate on the desk, taking it into both hands.

Revali can’t bring himself to watch, so he stares pointedly at his own feet. He has pride, yes, but not enough to force himself to watch Link disappear like this. As expected, he doesn’t have to wait long for the sound of the Sheikah Slate to fill the air, loud and grating on his ears.

“Be safe.” Revali says to the floor, unsure if he can even be heard over the magic that covers Link’s feet in blue, pulling him into the air and away from Revali. He doesn’t watch Link disappear into the sky, piece by piece. He keeps his eyes instead on the ground for long after the sound of the Slate has gone from the air. 

* * *

Revali does not know how long he stands alone in his roost. Eventually Colly comes to him, as she always does when he’s in pain, hesitantly knocking at the doorway. When Revali doesn't so much as look up, she steps inside. “Where’s Link?” she asks quietly.

As if a trance has been broken, Revali looks up from the floor. He catches Colly’s eye for a moment, but there is such pity there he has to look away. Instead, he turns to look out over the lake. “He’s gone,” Revali finally says.

“How?” Colly asks, as she did not see Link cross the bridges that lead out of the village. “Where?”

Revali ignores the first part. “To the Princess Zelda,” he replies simply. “Where he belongs.”

“Oh,” Colly murmurs and Revali can only assume she pieced together his meaning. Thank Hylia, Colly does not to move to embrace him or ask if there’s anything she can do. Revali listens to her footsteps as they lead away from his roost and back towards the village.

Whatever anger Revali had felt when Link was leaving had abated, leaving him in a state of general numbness. He supposes the anger will return along with sadness when the day eventually catches up with him. But for now, “I suppose I’ll go to the Flight Range,” he says aloud. “One doesn’t be the best by being lazy.”

Revali shoulders his Great Eagle Bow and shuffles around the roost in search of extra arrows. While he means this to be a distraction, to keep himself from dwelling on all that’s just happened, he can’t help himself from hoping that Link had made it safely to Gerudo Town.

Even if it meant Link had traded all thoughts of Revali for Zelda.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope this came out alright. Writing it was like pulling teeth. Sad, sad teeth.


	20. Chapter 20

Revali doesn't remember much about the death of his parents. He has a fuzzy memory of a hen and a cock who left one morning and never came back - after that there's just the Elder, who is all he ever needed. Somewhere in his childhood, Revali convinced himself that his parents had been great Rito, equal measures warm and loving, fierce and brave. But, what recently orphaned fledgling remembered their parents as anything short of the Goddess Hylia herself? 

What Revali remembers for certain is that after his parents never came home, he took to the bow and arrow with single minded obsession. There was concern in the village that violence born from such grief would only bear further tragedy. And it was partly true; when being the son of a murdered family caught up with Revali in his later years, he did reckless, dangerous things in the name of hunting and killing any monster he could find: Moblins, Bokoblins, Lizalfos, Stal-anything. But before that, before Revali tread the thin line between justice and bloodthirst, the truth was that the repetitive action of firing an arrow brought him a semblance of comfort.

And so Revali returns to that now, the comfort of the Flight Range, in the wake of the greatest heartbreak since the death of his parents. When he did this as a child, Revali was never able to understand why Hylia had taken them from him. At least now, Revali can understand Link's reason for leaving, and hopes that can be considered progress in-what are the fledglings calling it- "moving on"?

For a while, Revali had hated his parents for leaving, as if being killed by monsters was a choice they could have made to either end. But he hasn't felt that hate in years, and he doesn't feel it for Link.

Revali lets the dull thunk of arrows bedding in wood sooth his soul, scrub his thoughts. There is no Link, no heartbreak, no sinking emptiness in his gut like a stone. There is only satisfying accuracy. And if Revali happens to feel the dread of Link's absence crawling up his spine ever faster for the longer he ignores it, well.

Best to keep on ignoring it, then, and assume it will go away on it's own.

The Flight Range stays blissfully empty for longer than it logically should. Revali is under no assumptions - surely words gotten around about his sour mood and where he chooses to take refuge, and so he takes advantage of it without a second thought. When did Link leave? Around noon, maybe? Revali goes to the Flight Range and stays there the rest of the day, stays there into the night... He shoots arrows. The smart move here is that he's shooting them at targets rather than monsters.

He's an adult after all.

Revali stokes a fire and shoots some more arrows. He sleeps a little, eats a little - there's plenty of emergency rations in the Flight Range cabinets, even though they’re all dried meats. He doesn’t really taste them when he eats anyway. Chew, swallow, nock, shoot. Revali lets the simple routine lull him into a numbness that he could disguise as contentment with his current situation.

Even though everything seems to remind him of Link one way or another.

Revali assumes that too shall pass, with time.

Colly comes around at some point with food that isn’t dried out meat, which is just fine with Revali. She does not leave it at that, however, like any good sister that Revali never wanted, asked for, or particularly enjoyed the company of. At first they don't say anything. Revali is shooting arrows when Colly lands and quietly goes about unpacking the fruits and vegetables she brought. She stokes the fire against the cold before taking a seat. Revali assumes she’ll leave on her own if he continues to ignore her.

“Ignore me all you want, I’m not going to leave.” Colly announces.

Surprising even himself, Revali doesn’t argue. He droops his bow, distantly registering the pain in his shoulders and arms that have grown from a dull ache to stabbing throbs from overuse. He goes to the fire and sets down his Great Eagle Bow before he sits across the fire from Colly. He considers the food laid and picks up a coconut, giving it a sharp stab with the tip of his beak to reach the juice and fleshy pulp inside.

“Alright,” Colly says slowly as Revali tears into the coconut with thinly veiled anger. “I wasn't really expecting you to sit down, so I didn't prepare any talking points.”

Revali shrugs with a mouthful of coconut. When he tries to break off another chunk with his beak and fails, he smashes the fruit against the ground, sending chunks of fruit and coconut water flying across the small roost.

“Well, I’m picking up,” Colly gently brushes a chunk of coconut out of her feathers, which managed to make it’s way over the fire. “Some hints of frustration.”

Revali hums noncommittally, instead channeling all of his interest into the beaten up coconut in his hands.

“Would you like to talk about it?”

He shrugs in response.

“Want to tell me what happened? Was it a big fight?”

“Ah.” Revali turns the memory over in his head. “It was cordial. We came to the mutual agreement that it was better to break off our intention. Our other responsibilities should come before each other.” He’d been aiming for casual, but has a sinking feeling it failed.

Colly cocks her head at him, gently clicking her beak. “So you got dumped, huh?”

“What the Calamity did I just say?” Revali feels a nerve twitch in his face.

“People only say it was mutual when they’ve been dumped.” Colly corrects him. She rests her cheek on her fist and makes a pouting face. “I’m sorry, Revali.”

“You’re missing the point. Which is that it’s broken off.” Finally noticing that he’s smashed and squeezed and chewed the coconut in his hands to an unappealing pulp, Revali tosses it out the closest window to land in the snow. His feathers are starting to stick from the juice. “There’s nothing to do but move forward,” he says as he starts looking for something to clean his hands with. He can’t shoot arrows with sticky fingers.

“Well, I suppose that’s the general reason I’m here.” Colly tosses him the handkerchief she’d carried the fruits over in. “I came to convince you to get Link back.”

Revali doesn’t catch the handkerchief, instead letting it fall in his lap as he glares at Colly. “Are you dumb?”

Colly snorts out a soft laugh and leans back, bracing herself with her hands. Trying for casual and failing, clearly. “Look, I mean no offense, but.” She shrugs. “Revali, you’re sort of an insufferable ass.”

A moment of silence hangs between them.

“Which part was I not supposed to find offensive?” Revali deadpans.

“Oh, come off it,” Colly snaps back. “You can be a huge jerk, and you know it! But I don't know, ever since you met Link,” she trails off wistfully, looking to the window as snow begins to fall quietly outside, giving the pagoda an isolated feeling. “You’re different.”

Revali shakes his head. “I’ve known him for all of, what, a month? It was foolish of me to act so quickly on a crush like that. With so much else at stake.”

Colly opens her mouth to argue, but Revali holds up his hand.

“Everyday, the ground quakes. Everyday, the nights come a little darker, and the monsters a little stronger. Calamity Ganon is coming. And with him, maybe the end of the world. A war is coming. I shouldn’t be thinking about love. I should be thinking of about Vah Medoh and growing stronger.” Revali gently scoots around the fire until he’s close enough to Colly that he can place one hang over hers. “I should be focused on protecting those close to me.”

Colly shakes her head with a smile. Turns her hand over so she can squeeze his in return. “That’s sweet, Revali,” she whispers. “But I’m not falling for it.”

Revali rolls his eyes and snorts.

“Hear me out.” Colly tells him, sitting up straight and turning to face Revali fully. “And I mean full offense this time. Revali, you are a selfish, pigheaded, foolhardy-“

“Yes, thank you, Colly.”

“Stubborn, childish,”

“Colly.”

“A brat. Who takes and takes and takes.”

“Was this meant to be a pep talk?” Revali asks, lowering his eyes and straightening out his tunic. “Because you’re doing a crap job of it so far.”

“I prefer wake up call.” Colly informs him with all the sarcasm she can muster. “That you are stubborn and demanding and you _never_ back down from getting what you want. You love Link, and you know that I know that you know.” She tosses up her hands at this point and shakes her head. “What I can’t fathom is why you’re suddenly being such a coward.”

Revali grunts, lets his gaze drift to the window and the snow. Chooses instead to pretend he didn't hear the insult rather than react and prove her right. Not like she doesn't already know that she is.

“And I can make a lot of guesses that will probably make you want to kill me.” Colly presses on. “Maybe something about how you’ve had these emotional walls up ever since you were a kid. Maybe because your parents died. I don’t know. We can spend the rest of our lives puzzling out why you’re such a jerk sometimes, but, like you said, neither of us might have that long. So you need to go get Link back, and figure yourself out later.”

There’s anger in his stomach, but Revali isn’t sure if it’s necessarily directed at Colly. Some of it might be, just because she’s the one forcing him to do this. Forcing him to think more about his parents than he’s already had to, forcing him to confront studded emotions he purposefully bottled up that way. He should tell her to go to Calamity, curse her until she flies back to the village, angry but more importantly _away from him_. Revali decides that he will, in fact, do just that.

But whatever disconnect there’s been between his head and heart seems to also extend to his mouth. Instead he says, broken and pathetic, “What about the part where Link decided to dump me? His choice has been made.”

Colly certainly notices, but doesn’t point out how pathetic Revali must sound. “That doesn’t sound like the Revali I know,” she replies, like she hasn’t already said that a hundred times.

Revali lets out a quiet groan, finally lifting his head to look Colly in the eyes. He’s suddenly so tired, slammed by the lack of sleep and the constant archery he’s been using as an escape. “What is it the fledglings say?” He asked, rubbing his eyes. “If you love it, let it go? And if it loves you, it will come back?”

“Who is to say that's not what Link is thinking?” Colly suggests gently.

“You hardly even know Link.” Revali mumbles.

“But I know you,” She shoots back. “And I’d bet three loads worth of Hearty Salmon that when Link broke off his intention with you, you just nodded along. Either because you’re too prideful to admit you need someone, or you’re scared of admitting to yourself that you care.”

Revali lets out another sigh. Slowly he starts leaning back until he’s laying on his back with his legs still crossed, gently pillowing his head with his arm. A few moments pass before he hears Colly let out the breath she was holding, and then he feels her moving to lay next to him, curling up to his side, a hair’s breadth form touching.

Revali tilts his head back a bit further until he can peer out the window behind him. The snow is falling heavier now, clouding up the afternoon sky, but it makes the world seem so quiet and simple.

Eventually, he whispers, “Why are you doing this, Colly?”

“Isn’t it obvious?” Colly whispers back from where she’s curled on her side, pointedly not looking at Revali. “You’re an ass, but I’m in love with you. Have been, for a long time now.”

Revali nods to himself. Regrets asking, but supposes he deserves the guilt that’s sinking in his gut like a rock in a pond.

“And it hurts,” she continues quietly, but her voice is as strong as always. “To see you heartbroken like this, and being _right here_ for you. But not being the one you want.”

That seems like something Revali isn’t meant to have a response to. So he simply says, “I’m sorry.”

Colly might sniffle a bit, but Revali is smart enough not to mention it. “Then go be happy with Link. Let me get over you. And,” she shifts slightly against Revali’s side, their feathers barely touching, just enough to be sharing a bit of heat between them. “Let me have this. Just for a few more moments.”

“Okay,” Revali says back, letting his eyes slip shut. “You deserve better than me, Colly. I’ve always thought that.”

“Yeah, I know."

* * *

 

“You’re leaving for Gerudo Town, I take it?”

Revali looks up from the backpack he’d been shoving things in to without much care. He’s got a few tunics, arrows, Colly had packed him some dried meat, water skins and fruit rations. He’s taken aback by how easily The Elder had snuck up on him in his own roost.

“Ah, yes,” Revali scratches the back of his head in shame. “I was going to find you before I left, I swear.”

“I believe you,” The Elder hoots quietly. He moves from the doorway into Revali’s roost, sitting down on the edge of the bed that Revali had never gotten around to moving out after Link left. “You’ve never once asked me about your parents. Not even their names.”

“Uh,” Revali stops with a handful of unfolded tunics halfway to his backpack. “No, I haven’t,” he says as he gently sets the backpack down. “Why?”

“You’ve never wondered?” The Elder tilts his head as he speaks, twitching this way and that as if he’s nervous. “Where you come from?”

“No,” Revali lies easily and readily. Well, half-lies. “You’re my father, that’s enough.”

“Such a sweet son I have.”

“Well.” Revali shrugs and moves to stand closer to his father. “If you’re offering. I suppose I’ll listen to an old bird’s rambling.”

The Elder hums quietly, his head twitching right and left as he thinks. “How shall I put this,” he wonders aloud. “Your father was quite insufferable. Much like you, in fact!”

Revali feels the nerve twitch just above his eye coming back. “Ah, the ravages of time on a once sharp mind,” he grinds out. “Tragic.”

“And your mother. She was the fastest flyer this village has seen in years. She’d sneak off for days to fly out and see the world.”

The Elder goes quiet then, looking down at his lap. Revali nods, and moves to sit next to his father. He can’t remember the last time they’d shared a personal conversation like this when he wasn’t being lectured for poor behavior as a fledgling. “Why are you telling me this?”

“You’re a grown Rito now. The Champion of the Rito, in fact.” The Elder says, clicking his beak. “And I am your father.”

Revali narrows his eyes. “Not full onset dementia then. Yet.”

The Elder ignores him. “And I wonder what sort of father sends his son to fight a war.”

Oh.

“Oh.”

“Each time I send you off,” The Elder continues quietly. “I cannot help the feeling that it will be for the last time. What sort of father does that make me?”

“A good one.” Revali replies without hesitation. “Going soft in your old age, are you?”

“Grant me this request and hear a old bird out.” The Elder smiles and reaches around to pat Revali on the head like he’s a hatchling. Revali shrugs it off, but nods.

“Not a day passes that I am not proud of you. I haven’t known love for another like this since my wife passed. But I am always reminded that having you, the greatest fortune in my life, comes from the tragedy of you losing your parents. And not a day goes by that I wouldn’t have traded my miracle for their tragedy, so that you might have a family.”

“Don’t be dumb.” Revali says. “You are my father, the only father I’ve ever known and I’ve ever needed. Neither you nor I could change the way things are, and I would not, even if I could. That’s it.”

“Revali-“

“I said that’s it, old bird.” Revali slaps his knees as he stands up, makes a point of ending the conversation. “I’m starting to think you’re trying to get rid of me.”

“I’ve been found out.” The Elder laughs.

“Yes, I’m insufferable, apparently.” Revali bends down to pick up his pack, giving the inside a glance before cinching the top closed. “Allow me to spare you the pain of my company.”

“My thanks,” The Elder says with a surprising amount of sarcasm. “Allow me to walk you out.”

Revali holds out his hand to shake. “You’ve got me worried, old coot. All this serious talk. You're not dying faster than normal, are you?”

The Elder laughs and takes his hand, squeezing firmly. “I am not. The ravages of time, just as you said." 

"Good." Revali shoulders his pack and motions for his father to lead the way. "If I die fighting Calamity Ganon, I won't have you croaking and stealing my thunder."

"Despite your best efforts, I have a great many years left. I promise you that."

It's silly, and Revali hasn't allowed it since his younger years. But he doesn't shrug off his father's arm around his shoulders as they make their way down into the village.  

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I can't believe we're closer to the end than the beginning. I'm not decided for sure, but I think this might be the last chapter featuring my OC's, The Elder and Colly. From here on out, it might just be our favorite Champions! I hope they weren't horribly boring or out of place in this fic. 
> 
> Again, so many thanks to all of you! The readers, kudo-givers, and reviewers! I love all the feedback I get and blush at your appreciation.


	21. Chapter 21

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Word counts aren't even real anymore.
> 
> Also, am I the only one who feels that Zelda deserved better? I thought she came off as unfairly bratty and mean in a lot of the memories. I hope that doesn't make this too OOC. 
> 
> The end is in sight, friends.
> 
> Lastly, super special shout out to dancingcacti!

Revali loathes the desert. Everything about it. The heat, the sand, the sun, the dryness. Sure, Hylians and the Gerudo women can dress for the occasion, but Rito feathers don’t exactly come with wardrobe options. Not that it’s anyone’s fault the desert is horrible (Urbosa’s), nor is it anyone’s fault that Revali is here in the first place (Link’s, obviously). Revali has always tried to limit the amount of times he comes to the desert – he never would, if it weren't for Urbosa. He would go so far as to despise the Gerudo Chief if it weren’t for the relief he always felt when he saw the usual tent set out for official male guests of the Chieftain. Even then, when Revali is forced to visit Gerudo Town (or rather, the outside of it) for trade or diplomatic purposes, he has a bad habit of dragging his wings the entire way.

Revali thinks he set a Rito speed record on this particular trip.

But no matter how fast Revali is, Urbosa has always had a nasty habit of being faster. So he’s not surprised to see that the usual tent has been pitched outside the walls of the town, a bit away from the main entrance. Revali resists the urge to streamline through Urbosa’s bedroom window for now and makes a straight descent for the tent.

There are two Gerudo guards outside the tent, both who nod their heads in respect when Revali lands.

“Sav’aaq, Revali,” says the one on the right, moving to pull the curtain back invitingly, but not entirely. “Rest, if you will.”

“I will alert the Princess Zelda,” says the one on the left, who taps her spear against the sandstone beneath them before she leaves.

“Sarqso,” Revali mumbles, the words awkward around his tongue. He nods to the guard that remains before ducking inside, just now noticing that his mouth is watering at the thought of the hydromelon that usually awaits him inside. Ironic, that the sweetest hydromelon grows in the desert.

On that note, Urbosa is already inside the tent, reclining in a nest of silk and satin cushions. In one hand she has a goblet – red wine, Revali guesses – and in the other, a cubed piece of hydromelon from the nearby bowl.

Sav’aaq, idiot Vure!” Urbosa greets him merrily, waving her goblet at him as she pops the hydromelon between her lips, painted a deep purple today. “Welcome!”

“Sav’sa’somethin’,” Revali mumbles back, and he could feel his father rolling in his very polite grave just then. “Give me some of that.” He lets his backpack slip from his shoulders to land haphazardly on the floor before collapsing on the edge of Urbosa’s pillow nest. Technically his guest bed, he thinks, but he’s not in the mood to argue.

“A man in love,” Urbosa wonders aloud, holding out silver bowl of fruit to Revali. She makes a face when Revali grabs a handful of fruit without first wiping his hands, but doesn’t say anything. “Tell me, how is it, to be in love?”

“Feels horrible, I hate it.” Revali responds around a mouthful of fruit. There’s a cup of water on the table and he drains it in one go. “Where’s Link?”

“Voe,” Urbosa says like a lament as she refills his water cup. “So dramatic.”

“Link?”

“Pouting, as he has been since he got here. I’ve sent for the Princess, she is in the baths with my Captain of the Guard, Raju. The heat has been taking its toll on her in all the excitement.”

“I heard the last few days have been quite exciting.” Revali smirks around the rim of his cup. “Caught in the bedroom with your pants down by the Yiga Clan.”

“To be fair, Zelda’s were too,” Urbosa offers conversationally.

Revali chokes a bit on his water and means to probe further, he really does, but can’t get the words out around his coughing fit.

Urbosa offers him her wine with a perfectly arched eyebrow. “Considering the moping Link has done since he got here, I suppose I must congratulate you on your successful conquest.”

“We were intended, briefly.” Revali chooses to summarize as briefly as possible, his voice still breathless. He takes Urbosa’s cup and swallows a generous mouthful of wine.

“For all of three days, I heard.” Urbosa lifts her cup in salute. “Congratulations.”

“In my defense, Link was the one who broke it off before coming here.” Revali brushes casually at a bit of sand sticking to his feathers. “I don’t see why he would be the one moping.”

“Revali,” Urbosa looks down into her goblet, gently swirling what’s inside but no longer interested in drinking it. “When did you first meet Link?”

“When he came to Rito Village. Just before we all met Hyrule Castle. Why?”

Urbosa hums thoughtfully, still staring into her wine. “No reason.”

Revali means to argue about it – he’s not sure what Urbosa means by that but he’s certain it’s something arguable – but Urbosa’s captain of the guard is tapping her spear against the ground outside to announce her arrival before slipping inside.

“The Princess Zelda,” Captain Raju announces, making a show of holding open the tent flap while dutifully staying just outside.

Zelda is wearing a more conservative version of Gerudo clothing – a simple cotton slip beneath sheer fabric of light color, flowing and complimenting to her figure. But her light skin and bland hair are unmistakable, even if she’s a bit pinker than Revali remembers her. Revali stands to greet her with a head nod, motioning for her to sit. Urbosa doesn’t bother standing, but folds her legs to make room amongst the pillows.

“Revali,” Zelda comments lightly as she takes her seat near Urbosa. She reaches up, gently pulling back the hood of pink silk that obscures a bit of her face. Revali winces at the black and blue bruise that mottles the upper right of her forehead, just along the hairline. “It is… interesting to see you, to say the least.”

“Right,” Revali drags the word out. “I’m glad to find you in good spirits, Princess. And unharmed. I regret that you spilt blood in the attack.”

“Oh, this?” Zelda looks down at her bandaged arm. “Tis a scratch. Urbosa defended me quite valiantly, there was really no need for alarm. This however,” she reaches up to gingerly touch the bruise, testing the swell of it with a wince. “I gained this when my loyal Knight quite literally fell on me from the sky.”

Revali hides a chuckle behind one hand. Although Urbosa doesn’t even try to disguise a smile. “I suppose that’s partly my fault. I helped Link learn to teleport with the Slate, after all.”

“Yes, well, thank you for that,” Zelda replies with just enough sarcasm as is appropriate for a Princess. “I was in the bath, as a matter of fact. Captain Raju nearly took his head off.”

“Again, my apologies for my part in that.”

“Appreciated.” Zelda gently straightens out a bit of fabric from her dress, studying it intently with her eyes as she smooths it across her lap. “But that's not why you’re here, is it?”

Revali shrugs one shoulder and picks up a chunk of hydromelon to chew on. “Best to always assume the enemy knows everything, isn’t it?”

“You think me your enemy?” Zelda asks, and there might just be a hint of amusement in her voice.

“In this venture, perhaps. I’m here to seduce away your own Knight, after all.”

Zelda nods at this, her face carefully plain. “And if I deny you him?”

“I hadn’t thought that far.” Revali lies. Well, half lies. He had the entire flight from Rito to here to think about it, and the half-plan he has so far involves a duel to the death. Probably his, all things considered. “But I will see Link,” Revali continues, the only thing he’s actually certain of right now. “One way or another.”

Zelda nods again as she considers this further and Revali starts to worry that she might actually turn him away. She seems to be entertaining the thought as she gently strokes at the bruise on her forehead, and Revali wishes he were in the mood to laugh at how it must have all gone down.

Finally, for the first time since coming into the tent, Zelda makes eye contact with Revali, and it instantly feels like a fight that Revali knows he can’t afford to lose. Whne he refuses to look away, Zelda says, Urbosa, would you give us a moment? And send for Link?”

“Oh,” Urbosa sticks out her purple bottom lip. “I was so looking forward to this chat.” When neither Zelda nor Revali makes any acknowledgment that she’d spoken, Urbosa stands up with a sigh. “He won’t come.”

Zelda still doesn’t look away, and it’s downright unnerving, the intensity on those blue-green eyes. “Don’t mention Revali,” she states plainly, “tell him I’ve fainted.”

Urbosa’s eyebrows jump an inch or so. Revali sees her watching him in concern out of the corner of his eye. “Sound like a good idea,” he says, mimicking Zelda’s tone as well as he can.

“Changed my mind, get me out of here,” Urbosa mumbles to herself as she goes to the flap of the tent, shoving it aside. “Raju! Come, let’s find Master Link.”

The only sound left in the tent is the rustle of the curtain falling back into place, and the thundering of two heartbeats. Revali can hear the way Zelda’s is racing with his better ears. He wonders if Zelda can hear his.

“Was that supposed to be a challenge?” Revali says, and he’s awfully proud of how even he sounds when he says it.

Zelda’s eyebrows pinch together, like she isn’t sure of the answer. She lets a breath she was holding, and the spell is immediately broken as they both look away from one another. “No, Revali.” She goes back to picking at the chiffon of her dress. “It was the concern of a friend. I’m not here as a Princess.”

“Forgive me for thinking the two inseparable,” Revali is surprised to find himself saying it with a smile and even a little amusement. The situation he’s in is crap, simply put. But it’s funny to him that he’s here in the first place. Unbelievable enough to be worth a laugh, if nothing else.

In a moment of insanity, Revali extends the bowl of hydromelon to Zelda. “Am I correct in thinking that Link has told you everything that’s happened?”

“Yes. Although, probably not in the detail you think.” Zelda actually smiles and takes a chunk of the fruit, considering it for a moment before eating it. “There are things Link does not even tell me. He likes his secrets.”

“Yes, I noticed that. Does he have a lot? Of secrets?”

“If Link’s got anything,” Zelda says with a sad smile that tells Revali she’s taking no pleasure in this knowledge, “it’s secrets and sacrifices.”

“Sacrifices?” Revali parrots lightly, trying not to give away how curious he is. Zelda probably knows anyway.

“Link has,” Zelda starts slowly, worrying her bottom lip between her teeth. “He has given up much, for me. And it seems that now he has given up you.”

Revali squints at the Princess, wonders what she’s trying to get at. When she doesn’t respond, he says carefully, “It would seem.”

Zelda sighs and finally lets her skirts lay flat. “I’m here, tricking Link into meeting you, because I know he loves you. Wholly and undeniably. And it is my failure that keeps the two of you apart.”

“Zelda,” Revali would have once nodded, or said something asinine and pointed fingers. Now, this hardly feels like a victory. “You can’t blame yourself. Link chose to break things off with me. Ultimately, it was his decision, and while I would like to blame you to lessen the hurt,” Revali lets out a breath and shakes his head. “I will not. Perhaps he is afraid of love. Perhaps he does not love me as you think.”

“Revali, there is a story passed down in my family. Of a Hero.”

Revali waits for Zelda to continue as she turns the words over in her head.

“Whether skyward bound, adrift in time, or steeped in the glowing embers of twilight,” Zelda says slowly, her focus drifting as she stares into blank space and recites the rest from memory. “the sacred blade is forever bound to the soul of the hero.”

“You said those words at the ceremony.” Revali recalls immediately. “On the Sacred Grounds.”

“They’re words passed down through my family, telling the story of a great Hero who is born time and time again to defeat evil and darkness where it lingers in our world.”

“And Link is that Hero, obviously.”

“Yes.” Zelda’s eyes are still unfocused, lingering on something just past Revali’s head. A memory, perhaps. No doubt a heavy thought. “Link has heard them as well. The story of the Hero who repels the darkness with the help of a Princes.”

Revali doesn’t need to be told who that’s meant to be, like he doesn’t need another reminder that Zelda and Link are intertwined in ways that he and Link could never be. But in a moment of what he considers great personal growth, he holds his tongue.

“How do you imagine this story ends?”

“Excuse me?”

Zelda shakes her head. “Who is more likely to die? The Princess or her Knight, who lives to throw himself upon blades in her name? I know that you resent me for the way I treat Link,” Zelda raises her hand to stop Revali when he opens his mouth to argue. “And rightly so. I do not ask you to forgive me, but to understand my reasons.”

Revali wants to argue, wants to tell Zelda it’s not true. But he’s not sure how much of a truth it would be. He nods his head for her to go on instead.

“I know they do not excuse my actions, but for my every failure I cannot help but become angry and afraid. Link has fulfilled his destiny. He wields the sword that seals the darkness. He has seen me safely across continents and oceans. And yet I cannot summon the power to seal the darkness, no matter how hard or long I try. Hylia is deaf to me. And with every failure I become more certain that my weakness will be what brings Link to his death. I do not want Link to die, Revali..I do not want anyone to die. But more so than not, I do not want Link to die because of me.”

Revali doesn’t reply. It’s every fear, every dark thought that haunts his heart. All their hearts. The impending war, the impending loss of life. The question is, whose? Revali can ignore the thoughts as much he wants, bury them in the back of his mind beneath hours at the archery range, but the reality remains. And even he cannot withstand the passage of time.

“I understand that this fear and lashing out at Link makes me a coward.” Zelda lifts her chin, looking Revali in the face now as she speaks, tears streaming down her cheeks that Revali had not hear in her voice. And there is a smile, the kind smile that a Princess makes when she finally solves the question that's haunted her for years, no matter how painful the key. “Perhaps that cowardice is why Hylia ignores my prayers.”

Revali does a strange thing then. He’s full of those, lately. But it feels almost natural, reaching across the gap between himself and the Princess as he takes her hands in one of his, and gently brushes at her tears.

“Then we are both cowards,” Revali whispers quietly, gently lifting Zelda’s chin to look her in the eyes again, welling with tears still. “I act strong, as I am, but I fear death just as you. I pretend I am untouchable, when in fact I am the opposite. I am expendable, in this fight. You and Link are the ones who carry the fate of Hyrule on your shoulders. I cannot even begin to understand that weight.”

Zelda gently takes back one of her hands, using the back of it to wipe at her face as she laughs through her tears. “You? Afraid?” She sniffles, taking deep breaths to compose herself. “I think not.”

“I think so.” Revali says, his voice colored with the disbelief that he is willing to admit it aloud. “Sometimes I think I am so afraid of this war that I’d rather pretend it is not real. Like a nightmare.”

Zelda hiccups quietly, wiping at her face again and squeezes at Revali’s hand. “I suppose that makes Mipha and Daruk braver than the both of us.” When Revali cocks his head at her, she shrugs. “For Daruk to love his son, for him to look in the face of the Calamity and deny the darkness his happiness is brave. As is Mipha. I know she plans with her brother to travel all the rivers in Hyrule and taste every fish. And that she intends to ask Link for his hand in marriage. To be making plans for after a war we might not win, let alone survive.” Zelda lets out a breath. “That is true bravery.”

“What about Link?” Revali asks quietly, not even sure what he means by the question.

“Link is the bravest of us all, in a way.” Zelda states simply. She’s acquired a handkerchief from somewhere in the folds of her dress, and dabs lightly at her eyes. “To stand by my side despite my failures. To deny himself happiness with you, to protect you from his possible death. I envy his courage.”

“Yes, well,” Revali smirks at Zelda. “If I have my way, he’ll be back to being plain brave by the end of the day. Hopefully, by my side.”

“Link has sacrificed a great deal for me, for a war he did not ask for. More than he would want me telling you,” Zelda says with a cheeky little smile. Revali recognizes that as one little victory she still has over him, but can’t bring himself to be angry about it. “I hope he does not have to sacrifice you, too.”

“You and I, both.” Revali lets go of Zelda’s hand now, gently dropping it back in her lap. “If I may speak freely, once more?”

“Please,” Zelda snorts around her handkerchief. “I think we’re far past the formalities by now.”

“Princess, do not bear this burden alone. Let Link be your courage, as he is mine. You have wisdom in you, a great and powerful force. Do not turn your back to it in the pursuit of someone else’s ideals. You are you, do not change that. Be with Link, and combine to create a force that knows no bounds.”

“Even beyond your bounds, Revali?”

“No offense, Princess,” Revali is smirking again, and a weight lifts off his shoulders when he sees the same look on Zelda’s face as well. “I’m not sure Link needs you to best me.”

Zelda laughs, and if it weren’t for the redness around her eyes, Revali would have never guesses she’d just been crying. “Revali, I never thought I’d see the day that you- ”

“Link! Link, wait! Link!”

Zelda and Revali startle at the shouting from outside the tent, and within seconds Link is at the entrance, tossing aside the curtain.

And, wow, Revali might die right there. He hadn’t realized he’d been wondering, but here’s the answer to his question – If Revali isn’t even allowed within Gerudo Town, then how is Link?

And, again, wow.

Link’s looking out of breath, clearly having run here from somewhere under the impression there was an emergency. And Revali can see the flush from his exertion reaching all the way down his chest, because Link is dressed like a Gerudo woman, in a traditional Gerudo outfit. He’s wearing a Gerudo veil over his head and across the bottom half of his face, a Gerudo top that leaves his shoulders and almost entire front and back bare, and a Gerudo sirwal that looks like it might cling to his rear before poofing out at his knees.

Revali means to make a smart comment about it, but his brain just about shuts down as the direction of his blood flow is reversed so fast he might get whiplash in intimate areas.

“Oh dear,” Zelda murmurs. “I was hoping he’d put on a robe, at least.”

“I tried!” Urbosa pops up behind Link, who still standing blank faced in the doorway like a buffoon. She holds the article in question, “But he wouldn’t stop and listen!”

Link’s brain seems to catch up to the fact he’s been trick as his eyes dart between Revali and Zelda. Then down, at himself as he takes in his state of dress. Or undress, considering the amount of skin he’s burnt under the sun. Link’s hands fly to his middle, and honestly, it’s a little late to be protecting his modesty from any of them.

Revali, back to his usual self, whistles appreciatively because he can’t think of anything better to do.

Link’s hands go from his middle and he starts signing so fast at Zelda that he might just be waving his fingers. Either way, his face has lit up an alarming shade of red, even by his standards.

“Link, I’m sorry, I just-“

“Link, I just came to talk-“

“Link, just, put this on, good Goddess-“

Revali wonders distantly how often the Hero of Hyrule is caught off guard. He feels it merits him some sort of prize, but then again seeing Link in that outfit is prize enough.

It’s all good fun at Link’s expense until Link starts glowing a bright blue. Revali hadn’t noticed it at first, but even in a sirwal, Link’s got the Slate slung from a leather belt on his hip. He grabs it now, and while the activation was accidental, Revali wonders if Link would prefer being flung into the unknown to talking with him.

It’s a gamble, but he goes for it anyway.

Revali bolts up, getting up in Link’s face. “The roost!” He practicaly shrieks at the poor Hylian. “Think about the sunset!”

And then instead of grabbing onto Link, he slaps his hand over the Slate.

* * *

 As planned, Revali lands ass over head onto a rock surface, and a second later Link is dropping down on top of him like a boulder.

Which is the least of his worries, because Revali thinks he’s about to vomit hydromelon and wine, a flavor combination that he suspects will not be as good coming up as it was going down.

“Get off, get off, get off!” Revali says, shoving Link rather roughly as they disentangle. As soon as he’s free, Revali scrambles to the edge of the roost to drop to his hands and knees, squeezing his eyes shut against the churning of his stomach. “Oh, Goddess,” he groans out.

A hand gently comes down on Revali’s shoulder, alternating between comforting squeezes and gentle pats. So Link isn’t too upset about Revali tricking him into thinking about the Roost. He’ll appreciate that later, after he’s resettled his stomach.

Oh, goddess, had the Slate accidentally rearranged his internal organs when it put him back together? Was that possible?

Link hums quietly behind him, a reassuring sound that Revali takes to mean ‘it’ll pass’.

With his eyes still pinched shut he grits out, “That was horrible. That was the worst thing that’s ever happened to me. I'm never touching that Slate again Am I dying? It feels like I’m dying.”

He’s met with a grunt that somehow sounds like a question. Revali assumes it was a sarcastic, ‘what did you expect’ sort of response.

“How long until the numbness and tingles go away?” Revali heaves himself away from the edge now that his stomach has calmed from somersaults to gentle rocking. He falls back on his butt and groans. “Why am I both tingling and numb?” He forces one eye open.

 _Give it a minute,_ Link signs. He reaches up, gently hooking his fingers around the gold chain that holds up the veil across his face. He pulls it down, letting it hang around his neck.  _Well, now we know that I can bring guests._

He’s smiling.

“I’m sorry, do you find this funny?” Revali asks, clicking his beak. It’s all he can get out in a steady voice before the tingling in his entire body sends another wave of nausea through him.

 _Yes. You deserve it,_ Link signs. _For tricking me like that._

“Remind me to feel bad about it later.” Revali mumbles. He thinks his vision has finally straightened out, so he tries standing and blessedly doesn’t keel over. “I had to see you. Talk to you.”

 _I assumed,_ Link supplies plenty of sarcasm in his eyebrows as he signs it out. _About what?_

“As if you can’t guess.” Revail rolls his eyes. “I want to become intended again.”

Link sighs, and his shoulders slump a little, as if he was expecting this but hoping against hope for something, anything, else. _I thought we agreed it was for the best._

“I changed my mind.” Revali snaps. “I want to at least talk about it.”

 _Well, I don’t,_ Link turns away as he signs, taking in their surroundings. They are in fact back in Rito Village, on the top of the Roost where they once almost watched a sunset. Link peers towards the edge as if he’s considering it.

“There’s no way you can climb down dressed like that,” Revali tells him. “Especially not without gloves.”

Link seems to agree, and slowly one hand starts drifting towards the Slate again, as if he means to use it to escape.

Revali strikes quickly – he rips the Slate from Link’s hand and lobs it over the edge before he decides for a more mature course of action.

“Woo. That felt good,” Revali says honestly as Link watches, open mouthed and bug eyed, as the orange light of the Sheikah Slate slowly disappeared below them.

 _Fly me down!_ Link rounds on Revali with absolute murder in his eyes, which is concerning, because Revali can’t expect to pull that same trick with the Master Sword and expect to live after. _Go get the Slate!_

“I’ll get it, I’ll get it,” Revali tries his best to sound sincere and apologetic, probably fails at it. “Just, can we please talk first?”

Link, who is suddenly the most petulant brat Revali has ever met, huffs, crosses his arms, and turns away from Revali.

Revali gently clicks his beak, because this isn’t how it was meant to go. He stares at Link’s back, wondering if he’s already ruined what slim chance he had. There are goose bumps across Link’s skin, bared to the high altitude and harsh winds by his outfit.

Link startles when Revali gently wraps his scarf around his shoulders. He moves to shrug it off, but Revali just pulls it tighter over his arms. “Please,” Revali whispers. “You’re freezing.”

Link doesn’t turn back to him, but he doesn’t rip the scarf off either. Revali decides to test his luck, and gently rests his chin on Link’s shoulder. “I’m sorry,” he whispers, nuzzling his cheek into Link’s neck. “I had to see you.”

Silence passes between them, which is fine to Revali as he basks in being able to feel Link’s skin again. But it doesn’t last, and slowly Link turns to look at Revali again.

 _What do you want, Revali?_ Link asks. He looks tired.

“Well, ideally,” Revali reaches out, slowly, as if Link is easily startled, and cups Link’s cheek. “You.”

Link closes his eyes, drops his chin.

“But I’ll settle for the truth,” Revali continues quietly. “I love you, Link. And I thought – think – you love me too. And whether you do or you don’t, if you ask me to take you back, to never speak to you again, I’ll do that.”

Link looks up again. Tired and hurt, this time.

“But I just need you to tell me honestly.” Revali isn’t even sure what he’s asking for. He doesn’t even think that what he’s feeling can be described, but the words feel right on his tongue. “I don’t even know what I’m saying.”

Silence.

“It sucks. To love you so much.” Revali admits lamely and lets go of Link’s face with a sigh. He puts his hands on his hips and looks down, unable to meet Link’s face any longer.

“I love you too.”


	22. Chapter 22

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I did it! I sat down and I wrote it! I think I'm putting off updates because I'm worried about whiffing the ending. I want it to be emotional and perfect and flow with the rest of the story. Stay tuned! Thanks to all the readers who have made my investment in the story worth it!

Revali does a double take, turns to take a peek behind him, around him, maybe on a ledge somewhere below. When his search doesn’t turn up any other Rito playing a cruel trick he turns back to Link.

“Right here,” Link rasps, fiddling with the edges of Revali’s champion scarf that hangs over his arms.

Revali blinks at him, looking owlish.

Link winces as he clears his throat.

“You can talk,” Revali clarifies while he waits for the rest of his brain to catch up to the situation. “Out loud.”

“Correct.” Link says, and his lips actually move as the word comes out.

“With your mouth.”

“Two for two,” Link says with a smile and a cough.

“Well, stop.” Revali screws up his face into a grimace. “At least until we can get you some water. You sound awful.”

Link rolls his eyes but he doesn’t argue, just rubs at his throat like it’ll help. Revali has dedicated no small amount of time to mulling over Link’s voice. He’s tried to puzzle it out, strained his ears when Link laughs or gasps or coughs. But those had been passing fancies.

Revali never thought he’d actually hear it.

As is, Link’s voice is horrible. It’s little more than whispered gasps, and the sound of it is so breathless it makes Revali feel a little winded and thirsty just listening to it. It’s out of use, obviously, and it certainly sounds that way. It must feel that way too, with the way Link is mindlessly rubbing it.

But there’s something to it, a lightness that makes things click in place, as if it completes his perception of Link somehow. Youth, Revali thinks to himself. There’s youth in his voice and it makes Link actually seem like the eighteen year old he is.

“Here,” Revali says, suddenly remembering he’s got a small water flask on his belt, although it’s less than half full. He unhooks it and hands it to Link, who drains what’s left of it in a single swallow.

"Thanks,” Link says much clearer this time and hands it back to Revali.

“So,” Revali busies himself with screwing the cap back on the flask. “I take it that you’ve been able to talk this whole time?”

“Yes,” Link says it a bit louder this time, his voice a bit more certain as if he’s forgotten what it can do and he’s testing the limits. “Since I was born, actually.”

“You,” Revali starts and fumbles. “I can’t – how? Why? I –”

“What?” Link grins, actually grins. “You’re going to throw me out a window?”

“No, I-”

“Wait, no, you’ll take me up to Vah Medoh and then throw me out a window?”

“Link-”

“No, I got it,” Link cuts in again, obviously overjoyed at this newfound power of interruption. “You’re going to take me up to Vah Medoh, kill me yourself, and then throw me out the window into Death Mountain?”

“Link!” Revali tries again. When Link just smirks at him, he clicks his beak. “Good Goddess, you say one word and suddenly I can’t shut you up,” he trails off slowly and Link quirks an eyebrow. Revali shrugs. “I was just trying to say... I don’t know. Thank you, I suppose.”

Both of Link’s eyebrows go up at that.

“I mean, thank you,” Revali fumbles to recover. “For trusting me, I guess. To talk to me. Or something, I don't know. Not that there’s anything wrong with you being a mute. Or any mute in general! It’s just,” Revali lets out a sigh and smiles. He’s already made an idiot of himself, there’s not much face to save here. “I never thought I'd get to hear your voice. So thank you.”

Link just smiles. “Sorry it’s not very pleasant sounding. It’s been a while.” He pauses to count on his fingers. “Ten years, maybe?”

“Ten years?” Revali parrots. “Who else knows?”

Link counts the names off on his other hand. “Impa, Purah, Princess Zelda, King Rhoam.” He points the last finger at Revali. “You.”

Uncharacteristically, Revali keeps his mouth shut to let that sink in. He supposes this is one of those secrets Zelda had been referring to.

“You’re not going to ask?”

“Dying to,” Revali corrects him. “But only if you’re comfortable telling me.”

Link seems to weigh the idea in his idea, and for a moment Revali worries that he might be seriously considering keeping this last secret to himself. Which is fine, Revali will respect. But, not to be dramatic or anything, Revali will absolutely _die_ if he doesn’t find out.

He tries not to let the desperation show while Link thinks.

 _Can we go inside?_ Link signs it this time, and Revali feels his heart sink. _I’ll tell you! But it’s cold and my throat hurts._

“Oh. Right! Yes, I’ll fly us down,” Revali gestures vaguely. “Sorry about the whole trapping you up here, by the way. And the Slate.”

 _You still have to go find it,_ Link signs with a frown.

“I’ll get it later.”

_Revali!_

“What?” Revali replies with a groan. “It’s not like there are any fish big enough to eat the Slate in Totori Lake. I already apologized.”

Link rolls his eyes because Revali hadn’t even tried to fake sincerity in it. He climbs onto Revali’s back when the chance is offered and throws his arms around his neck, burying his face in the soft navy feathers at Revali’s throat.

Revali takes that for forgiveness, but he idly wonders what other meanings he could squeeze out of the small gesture.

Revali stops by his roost first, landing in the window and drawing the curtains. Link had left behind a pair of trousers in his rush to leave days before, which is fortunate. And for a shirt, Revali allows him free reign of his very limited wardrobe. He sits back on the bed and doesn't trying to hide his ogling as Link digs through his clothing chest, pulling out tunics and checking for size and then smell.

His fingers are itching to give Link’s rear a playful squeeze, covered in such thin, soft fabric it’s like it was made for temptation. His bare back too, the majority of it left uncovered by the Gerudo top. Revali was so busy admiring he hadn’t realized that Link had found a suitable tunic and turned to him now, realizing he was being blatantly admired.

It get’s an old tunic tossed in his face, and Link kicks him out when he changes to clothes, but it was so, so worth it.

The tunic is too big, given their difference in size, but Link makes do by tying the excess fabric around his hip, leaving it loose on his chest. After some consideration, he also opts to go barefoot rather than ruin his ensemble with the green and gold Gerudo shoes. Revali hadn’t thought Link would be so vain as to care about color coordination, which gets him another smack in the shoulder.

 _Go get the Slate_ , Link signs at him angrily. And while Revali is dying to hear that voice again, that horribly, raspy voice, he’s going to miss the way Link can convey so much frustration through his fingers alone.

“Can I keep these?” Revali asks instead, holding up the Gerudo outfit that he had carefully and lovingly folded to put away for safekeeping.

Link blushes form his neck to the tips of his ears and makes a rude gesture. _Hurry up. The Slate, idiot._

As it turns out, Revali was wrong - there are fish in Totori Lake big enough to swallow the Slate. Whole, he assumes, which is downright impressive.

“You’d think the fish would know better,” Revali observes with genuine curiosity as an orange light darts through the water below them in a zigzag pattern. “Or choke.”

_Go get it!_

“But Rito can’t swim.”

Link throws his hands up and very nearly falls off the rock pillar Revali had deposited him on near the water’s surface. _You made this mess! Fix it!_

“I don’t know,” Revali taps the tip of his beak while he thinks. “What if I fly over the water and hold you by your ankles–”

Link gives him a swift kick in the tail feathers, and Revali goes squawking and flapping head first into the water.

The water is freezing and Revali might drown before he manages to catch the fish with the glowing orange belly, but it feels right, and that’s what matters.

* * *

 “That thing smells like fish,” Revali puts a hand over his nose, still wet, thank you very much, Link. “Get it out of here.”

“It’s your fault,” Link snaps back, even though he’s holding the Slate at arms length from his own face. He goes to set it down on Revali’s desk. “Reap what you sow.”

Revali assumes the novelty of hearing Link’s voice will fade eventually, but so far tonight he’s been casually sprinkling verbal responses into their conversations and it never fails to give Revali a little burst of excitable energy.

The more Link speaks, the happier and younger he sounds and Revali loves it. Not in a weird way, mind.

He just sounds happy.

“Here,” Link is tossing a towel at the back of Revali’s head. “Think you’re the one with the stink.”

“Well, then that would make it your fault.” Revali dabs gently as his wing feathers.

Link just coughs at him. “I would say thank you for fishing it out. But it’s sort of your fault it ended up in the water anyhow.”

“You know, I almost like you better as a mute,” Revali towels at the plumage of his chest. “Much quieter. Cuter.”

Link gives him a glare.

“Kidding, of course.” Revali peers at Link out of his periphery. “Darling.”

Link lifts an eyebrow and Revali holds his breath.

“Is that you, testing the waters?” Link tilts his head at Revali. “If we’re to be intended again?”

“Shall we talk it out?” Revali steps back to drop down onto the bed, Link’s bed, that he hadn’t moved out. He reaches out and takes one of Link’s hand in both of his, tugging Link gently to stand in front of him. “Should I propose to you again? I’ve already made my intentions clear to Princess Zelda, I’m halfway there.”

Revali brings Link’s hand up to his cheek until he can rub the smooth skin of his palm against his cheek.

“That won’t be necessary.” Is Link’s quiet answer.

“Thank Goddess,” Revali mumbles under his breath. He didn’t exactly have a four-point speech lined up. One of the four was seducing Link back into his bed with a few purposeful touches, and that probably didn’t even count as a good argument in the first place.

“But we should still,” Link rolls his free hand as he searches for the words. “Talk. You know, about us.”

Revali hums. “How about a little foreplay? Like…” He runs his feathers over Link’s hand again, reminded fondly of the first time he had the pleasure. It felt so long ago already. “How you’re talking in the first place?”

“Right,” Link says with a snort and the voice paired with his laugh a beautiful, beautiful combination. “It’s a long story,” he continues with a cough.

“There’s water.” Revali gestures vaguely towards his desk somewhere behind them. “No one knows we’re here. No interruptions, we could just talk and talk all night. Like we’ve already been married for ten years.”

Link snorts but drops down onto the bed next to Revali. There are a few moments of silence until he falls sideways to rest his head on Revali’s shoulder, leans into the comforting warmth of his feathers.

“Just because you performed the miracle of speech doesn’t mean I forgot what you said.” Revali offers for conversation. When Link doesn’t reply, he ventures, “I’d like to hear it again.”

There’s more silence between them like it’s suddenly the theme of the evening. Revali folds his hands in his lap and waits.

“It’s not as if,” Link starts and fiddles with the extra fabric of his tunic. “It didn’t happen in one day. It started slowly.”

Revali slings one arm over Link’s shoulder because it seems like the right thing to do. Feels right.

“It was after King Rhoam announced to his court that I was Hyrule’s champion reborn. I had just gotten to Hyrule and…” Link trails off and starts to rub his throat again. “I was never a talkative child. It started simple. I nodded instead of saying hello. When no one said anything about it, I started pointing, waving, and eventually I was signing instead of speaking. No one ever said anything about it. That was about ten years ago, I think.”

“Why?”

Link sighs. “It’s embarrassing.”

“It’s normal, you know. For a boy’s voice to do that cracking ‘ _eee!’_ thing during puberty.” Revali gives Link a fatherly pat on the back. “Did the small tree people not warn you about that?”

“You’re the worst,” Link mumbles and leans forward to bury his face in his hands. “I hate you.”

“Not that something like that has ever happened to me,” Revali continues as if Link hadn’t spoken. “But it’s no reason to never speak again.”

Link groans into his palms. “I thought you wanted to hear the story.”

“I do.” Revali nods and gives Link a gentle nudge, shoulder to shoulder. “But not at your expense. You can tell me, I won’t judge you.”

“Bullshit!” Link exclaims before throwing his head back with a genuine laugh. He takes in Revali’s offended look with even more glee. “I’m sorry, I’ve always wanted to call you on it out loud.”

Revali wants to say something snarky, but Goddess, that laugh.

“I,” Link shrugs and holds up his palms. “It’s cowardly.”

“I doubt that.” Revali nudges him again. “And I’m rarely wrong.”

Revali gets a genuine smile for that.

“Since the day I was born I’ve been told that I was the Hero of Time, born and born and born again to fight Ganon and his evil in all it’s forms.” Link’s got his hands in front of him, fingers laced together in prayer when he turns to look at Revali. “I was twelve. I was just a child, Revali. I’m still a child.”

There’s nothing to say, so Revali doesn’t waste breath trying. He squeezes Link’s shoulder and nods instead.

“And I’m scared.” Link chokes it out this time, and there are tears in the corners of his eyes. “I’m so scared, Revali. I’m supposed to go to war, and I couldn’t handle it back then. I didn’t know how to be strong, I didn’t know what to say. So I just, I stopped. Stopped saying anything.”

Revali feels his heart of ice break, although he’ll never admit it out loud. He just can’t decide if this pain is worse or slightly more bearable than when Link broke off their intention.

“It got easier after I stopped speaking. It relieved a little bit of pressure, you know? One less thing to have to do perfectly while everyone was watching. And even when I did do well, Zelda resented me for it, the person who was meant to face this evil with me.”

Link’s voice breaks into a sob, short and painful before he reigns in his breath, holding it until he feels in control again. He wipes furiously at the tears in his eyes. He shrugs off Revali’s arm around his shoulders to stand up and start pacing the small space of his roost.

“I always had this idea of my parents.” Link says, talking fast and frantic like the way he signs when he’s upset. “That my mother and father, they were strong warriors. I used to imagine that my father was a knight for the royal family. The strong and silent type you’d see around the castle.” He sniffles and wipes at his face again. “Eventually I got it in my head that if I was strong and silent, then I could bear any burden.”

Link stops in his pacing to put his hands on his hips. When he turns to Revali again he’s still got tears in his eyes but there’s a smile on his face like he finds it generally amusing. “Doesn’t seem to be working out for me, does it?”

“I think you’re doing fine.” Revali replies without hesitation. He wonders if he should have taken a couple more seconds to make his response seem more thoughtful. “There’s no one else who could do this. So yeah, anyway that you make it work is just fine, in my opinion.”

Link rolls his eyes. “Flatterer.”

“No, here me out,” Revali reaches out and takes Link’s hands again, pulling Link to stand in front of him again like they did earlier so he can look up into his eyes. “Do you remember when we first met in Rito Village? And I asked why the Master Sword chose an invalid like you?”

“You called me an invalid?” Link scrunches his nose.

“Semantics,” Revali amends before continuing. “The point is that I get it now. The Master Sword chose _you_ in this life like it did in the last and it will in the next. Whether skyward bound, adrift in time, or steeped in the glowing embers of twilight,” Revali recites it from memory. “You are the soul of the hero. And, yes, the Master Sword is bragging points, but the sword chose you for _you_. Your soul, your courage, or whatever you want to call it.”

Revali kneels down to press the tip of his beak to Link’s hand. “You are the hero, Link. I believe that now. I don’t know what’s going to happen and I don’t presume that it will be an easy battle. But somehow you will do it.”

Link gives him a gentle smile.

“Besides, the sword obviously didn’t choose me, and you’re the only other logical option,” Revali adds as an afterthought, “Although it pains me to admit.”

Link takes back his hand and gently taps the tip of Revali’s beak with a smirk. “Right there is why I felt ready to speak again,” he says with a fond smile. “No matter what I say, you’ll always be the bigger ass so long as you’re in the room.”

“I’ll take offense to that later,” Revali replies with an eye roll. “Besides, even if I am an ass, you love me.” He looks up at Link with a victorious smirk. “You said so.”

“Revali,” Link starts like he means to argue.

“And now that I know that.” Revali chooses to ignore him before throwing his arms around Link’s waist and pulling him in tight. “You’re _never_ going to get rid of me.”

“Let go, you ass,” Link says, but he wraps his arms around Revali’s head anyway. “I still don’t know about us being intended again. With everything else going on. “Alright, no intention then.” Revali leans back enough to make eye contact again. “I want to make you my Promised.”

“Marriage?” Link parrots back. “Revali, it’s like you’re _hearing_ the words I’m coming out of my mouth and purposefully running in the exact opposite direction with them.”

“Hear me out,”

“Am I making Lizalfo sounds? Is my voice that out of use?”

“I prefer your sarcasm limited to your hands,” Revali observes testily. “Look, I don't know what’s going to happen. You’re scared, Zelda’s scared, I’m not scared,” Link opens his mouth to argue but Revali stops him with a finger on his lips. “What I know is that I’ll either die in this war or I’ll see us married afterwards.”

Link blinks at him.

“Imagine the ceremony they’d have to throw,” Revali argues. “For not just two Champions, but the Hero of Hyrule? They’d have to shut down Castle Town for a week.”

Link tries to argue again.

“No excuses.” Revali cuts in again. “We’re in love and we will cherish the time we have now until the war.”

“And after the war?” Link asks.

“We’ll burn that bridge when we come to it.” Revali knocks his forehead against Link’s stomach. “It doesn’t have to be complicated yet. Become my Promised.”

Link doesn’t reply. Slowly, he drops to his knees, gently caged between Revali’s legs and presses them chest to chest, although Revali is still a good head taller.

It’s a point of pride.

“I love you,” Revali whispers into Link’s hair. “Your turn.”

Revali feels Link shake his head against his chest.

“I love you, too.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I think the "you know what" might be coming up very soon....


	23. Chapter 23

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you will please direct your attention to A COMPLETED CHAPTER COUNT. The end is in sight!!
> 
> Was I the only one who cried when they saw Link's final secret memory where he died?? I worried I wouldn't do the scene justice, so I decided to keep it short and sweet...

Link feels it in his heart, when it happens.

He doesn’t know how he knows, but it’s undeniable, a sharp stab in his chest. He hears it next, the ear splitting shriek of Vah Medoh that carries from the west. Even under the control of Calamity Ganon, Revali’s beast cries in anguish. Finally, Link sees it, through the storm of black and pink that covers the sky, Medoh’s poison pink eyes.

Link feels it in his heart, when it happens, and the pain is indescribable.

“No, Revali.” Zelda covers her mouth with her hands. “It can’t be.”

“We need to go.” Link grabs Zelda’s elbow, tugging it to no response. “Zelda, we have to flee for Hateno. If we can reach the tech lab there maybe-”

“Mipha, Daruk,” Zelda is ignoring him, turning in circles towards Lanayru and Death Mountain. They can’t see the landlocked Divine Beasts from here, but there are four discernable points in the sky where Calamity Ganon’s poison is thickest in the air. “Urbosa.”

Link turns back towards Lake Totori, where Vah Medoh is circling the sky. The wings are flapping, it’s body clanking away but the motions are awkward and wrong, as if the Beast is fighting itself. Stunted or not, Link recognizes the predatory behavior. It’s searching.

“We have to save them,” Zelda shakes Link’s shoulder, snapping him out of his daze. “Link, there must be something we can do,”

“They’re gone.” Link replies without hesitation, and the words come out easier than he’d expect. The sadness is muted, like a dull, faraway buzzing in the back of his mind. All that’s left is numbness and a clear path forward. “Zelda, they’re gone. We have to go, in minutes this place will be swarming with Guardians.”

“How could this happen?” Zelda’s legs give out suddenly and she drops to her knees in the dirt. “The Divine Beasts, the Guardians. How?”

She says it like a plea, and Link doesn’t know whether she’s beginning explanation or forgiveness.

Link opens his mouth to say something – anything – but it interrupted by the charging sound of a Guardian’s laser. Link’s hand immediately goes to his sword, Zelda either didn’t hear him or doesn’t care. She’s in shock still, a detachment that Link can’t afford right now.

Link grabs her around the arm, his grip unintentionally bruising as he pulls her to her feet. “Go, I’m right behind you.” He pushes her forward and Zelda stumbles into a run. “Go!”

As much as Link wants to, he doesn’t spare a glance backward towards Totori Lake.

The Champions and the Beasts are gone.

Revali is gone.

* * *

Calamity Ganon comes for them, as he comes for all of Hyrule. He awakens above the castle, Hyrule’s oldest and greatest evil, with earthquake and thunder. Revali takes to the sky with the first shake of the ground, and he’s met with a sight he thought he’d be prepared for.

Revali thinks he’s meant to be feeling fear or some sort of physically paralyzing dread, but his first thought is confusion. All of the old texts and songs of Hyrule have always referred to Ganon as a piggish monster, boar or otherwise. The evil that presents itself now is more like a dragon, swirling black energy that comes to peak in a greedy mouth. Revali doesn’t know whether it came from the ground or sky, but either way the castle is shrouded in the black, pink energy that Ganon has made to create a storm in the sky above as well.

The thunder cracking is pure, malevolent energy and the fear catches up right quick, hitting Revali in the chest like a sledgehammer.

Revali lets gravity drag him back to the ground, but somehow when his feet land his stomach continues sinking.

“It’s here,” Urbosa is the first to speak.

“This is it, then…” Daruk is squaring his shoulders.

“Are you sure?” Mipha asks, and it’s not so much a question as a desperate wish.

“Positive.” Revali tells them.

“It’s awake… Ganon!”

With another crack of dark energy, pink and black clouds start to spread throughout the sky, like smoke from the fires of hell itself. What a strange color combination, Revali thinks idly.

“Let’s stop wasting time!” Daruk turns back to the group. “We’re gonna need everything we go to take that thing down. Now Champions!” Daruk swings his arm, “To your Divine Beasts! Show that swirling swine who’s boss!”

It’s not a helpful thought, but there’s that pig thing again, Revali thinks.

“Link will need to meet Ganon head on when we attack! This needs to be a unified assault!” Daruk turns to Link, “Little guy! You get to Hyrule Castle.”

Revali sighs at that, although it comes off as more derisive than he means it to. It doesn’t matter that this is Link’s purpose, reborn time and time again to defeat evil. Revali still doesn’t have to like it.

“You can count on us for support. But it’s up to you to pound Ganon into oblivion!”

Bless Daruk for his optimism, even if it isn’t shared by anyone else in the group.

Urbosa puts her hands on Zelda’s shoulders, meaning to guide her away “Come. We should go. We need to get you someplace safe.”

Is there anywhere safe, Revali thinks but wisely doesn’t say.

“No! I am not a child anymore! I may not be much use on the battlefield. But there must… There must be something I can do to help!”

“Well…” Daruk gently rubs the back of his head. “Maybe you could go with Urbosa…”

“No, I will go with Link.”

“You can't be serious,” Urbosa tugs on Zelda’s arm, pulling them face-to-face. “Your powers… It’s too dangerous!”

“If I cannot awaken the powers to seal Ganon, then I will die along with Hyrule either way.” Zelda brushes off Urbosa’s hand and stands her ground. “If I’m to die, I will die facing down Ganon, not running away.”

Urbosa opens her mouth to argue, but another screech cuts her off, shaking the ground along with it. After a few moments the tremor passes, but the sound of lightning still shakes the air, setting Revali’s feathers on edge.

“We haven’t the time to argue.” Zelda takes Urbosa’s hand in both of hers, squeezing reassuringly. “Please, do not worry about me, my friend. All I ask if that you all return to your families after the battle.”

“She’s right,” Mipha comments quietly from the side. “We mustn’t waste anymore time.”

Daruk nods in agreement with her, and the two start towards their Divine Beasts. “Hurry, Urbosa!” Daruk calls back to them.

Urbosa growls low in her throat, suddenly pulling Zelda into a tight hug. “You protect her, you hear?” She says over Zelda’s shoulder to Link.

Link smiles and nods.

Unhappy, but as satisfied as can be, Urbosa gently buries her nose into Zelda’s hair, tightening their embrace. Having superior Rito hearing, Revali can clearly hear the quiet whispers and promises Urbosa’s makes against Zelda’s cheek.

“I’ll be alright… Link will be with me.” Zelda tells her, gently patting Urbosa on the back she is released. “Let’s go,” she whispers, “Give Link and Revali a moment.”

Revali wonders if Zelda knows he could hear her. Promptly decides it doesn’t matter, instead turning his attention to Link, whose eyes are glued to the blackening sky.

“Link,” Revali whispers and gently catches the Hylian’s attention with a light hand on his arm.

When Link turns to him there’s an overwhelming sadness to his smile.

“This is it, then?” His hand slowly drops, tracing the side of Link’s forearm until their hands come together in a squeeze. “The moment we’ve been waiting for?”

Link squeezes back and nods.

Revali opens his mouth to reply but he’s caught off guard by the lump in the back of his throat, and lets his beak snap shut. He takes a moment, gathers himself together with a hard swallow. “Try to make it back alive, won’t you?”

“Same to you,” Link replies quietly, and at the sound of his voice it’s as if the rest of the world fades away. “Come back alive.”

“Oh, haven’t you heard? I’m the great Rito Warrior, Revali. A fight like this hardly gets me winded.”

Link laughs quietly and doesn’t reply immediately. Slowly he leans forward, and when Revali doesn’t move away they come together in a hug.

Revali rests his chin on the top of Link’s head, rubbing gently. “There was so much more I wanted to say. Wanted to do.”

“Me too.” Link whispers into the feathers against his cheek. “Are you scared?”

“Does it matter?”

“I guess not.” Link replies with a light laugh. “Promise me you’ll be safe, Revali.”

“I will.” Revali nuzzles Link’s ear, inhaling his scent in an attempt to memorize it. “Promise you’ll come back to me.”

“I promise.”

“We need to go,” Link whispers, but his arms tighten across Revali’’s back, his hands fisting the feathers. “They’re waiting for us.”

“I know,” Revali cups the back of Link’s neck and squeezes. “I love you.”

“I love you.”

Revali forces himself to pull away, and he’s proud that there aren’t tears blurring his vision when he looks at Link again. “It’s time to prove which of us is the superior warrior. The flightless, skinny Hylian, or the mighty, invincible Rito of the skies.”

* * *

Link has come close to dying many, many times. Arrows, swords, monsters, one time he’d nearly set himself on fire. Each time hurt seemed to hurt more than the last. Somewhere in the back of his mind, he finds it funny. Now that Link's actually dying he feels strangely numb.

He remembers something blue and then the focused red heat of a laser on his chest.

And then light. Warm, golden light.

“No, no… Link! Get up!”

I’m okay, Link means to say, but all he can get out is a weak cough as Zelda pulls him upright. It’s okay, I'm okay.

Please don't cry, he wants to beg her.

“You’re going to be just fine.” Zelda is telling him, squeezing him and shaking him like she’s trying to keep him awake.

Now that he thinks about it, Link feels awfully tired. It’s raining and his clothes are soaked through, but the flash of light had left something warm inside him. The same warmth that he always felt waking up next to Revali.

Your power, Link tries to tell her. You found your power. I knew you could do it, Zelda.

He’s so tired. He just needs a bit of rest and he’ll be good as new.

“No…”

Link lets his eyes slip shut, just for a moment.

And then there’s nothing.

Not even Revali.

* * *

Zelda taps the last of the commands into the Sheikah Slate and when it beeps affirmatively in response she releases a breath she hadn’t realized she’d been holding. Every movement hurts her bruised ribs, up and down both sides, and she hasn’t slept properly in days.

Link has done nothing but sleep, for which she is grateful to Hylia.

Satisfied with the settings, Zelda fits the Sheikah Slate into the open space of the console. She takes another deep breath and realses it with a wince before she turns back to Link and walks over his resting place.

“Your recovery is remarkable,” Zelda whispers aloud as she approaches the rock bed where Link is sleeping. “Only three days but your external injuries have completely healed. We feared that the Slumber of Restoration was no more than a prayer and yet…”

Zelda receives no answer but the soft echoes of her own words off the wall. She comes up to the rock bed where Link sleeps that looks for too much like a grave statue for her comfort. Gently, she dips a few fingers in the water that fills the tub, finding it pleasantly warm, if a little unearthly blue. Her hand continues moving up, dragging the backs of her fingers along Link’s skin beneath the surface of the water, clean and soft. Scars that once littered his body were fading bit by bit, the smallest scratches now barely perceptible from the color of the rest of his skin.

“I used to tell you that Sheikah Technology was two parts science and one part magic.” Zelda gently pulls a few strands of hair from where they've stuck wetly against Link’s cheek. “It seems the Slumber of Restoration is almost entirely magic. Your body will be new, your mind empty… I wonder, without memory, will you be the same Link I know and cherish?”

Zelda pauses, gently brushing the rest of Link’s hair away from his face. She startles herself when she realizes the pause was her waiting for a response. Thoroughly embarrassed with herself, Zelda shakes her head before continuing; “It truly begs the question where one draws the line between the spirit, mind, and body. Between science, magic, and the natural world.”

She’s met with nothing but the sound of her own fingers stirring the water, letting the sound of tiny waves bounce all around her. The Shrine of Resurrection is buried so deep beneath the ground, it’s a world of its own. Zelda hasn’t known peace like this, heard the sound of gentle waters like this, since the Calamity began.

“The world is burning, Link.” Zelda tells him, regardless of if he hears her words in his dreams or not. Or if he dreams at all. “Hyrule Castle is gone, the army destroyed at Akkala Citadel. My father, the Champions, gone…”

Zelda lets the echo of her heavy breathing bounce through the room while she tries not to cry. She sniffles once and wipes at her eyes. “The four realms have fared the attack much better, thank Hylia. They’ve taken Hylian refugees in their time of need. Those who escaped Castle Town have fled to the outer edges of the continent. Lurelin, Hateno.”

More silence until Zelda sighs out: “They’re surviving.”

A knock rings out from the mouth of the cave and Zelda flinches. When hesitant footsteps rather than explosions follow it, she lets her fists slowly unclench.

“Princess? She’s arrived.” A voice calls out from halfway down the cave.

“Thank you, I’ll be out in a minute.” Zelda trusts her voice to carry, and soon the footsteps are fading back outward. Zelda returns her attentions to Link, who remains undisturbed.

“I must leave you now.” Zelda tells Link, and although she’d prepared for this she feels sorrow curling in her throat, threatening to choke her. “I’m going to leave the Sheikah Slate behind for you and seal the door from the inside for your protection.”

Zelda trails her hand back down Link’s arm until she can take his hand in hers, mimicking the comforting touch that she misses. “The Calamity must be stopped before all the land is cast into darkness. Hyrule and the four realms can only fight back so long. And when I’m gone… It seems the rest is in the hands of fate.”

With one last squeeze of Link’s hand, Zelda takes a step back from the pedestal and gently goes to her knees, clasping her hands together in front of her. She lets her chin drop and closes her eyes. “Bless me, Goddess Hylia, your faithful child. I beg you hear my prayer in my time of greatest need. Share with me the gifts of the Golden Goddesses: Din’s Fire and Power to protect my family, Farore’s Wind and Courage to face the evils ahead, and Nayru’s Love and Wisdom to bring peace to my people.”

Zelda finalizes her prayer by touching two fingers to her forehead, lips, and heart, but she does not move to stand yet, or open her eyes.

“I’m sorry, Link. I know if you were here, you would tell me this was not my fault. Whether it is or is not, I haven’t the strength to decide. I’ve prayed to every God and Goddess worshipped in the realms. To Hylia, to the Sand Goddess. I’ve begged the Seven Heroines of the Gerudo for skill, spirit, endurance, knowledge, flight, motion, and gentleness. I’ve prayed to the Deku Tree, to Urbosa, Daruk, Mipha,” Zelda’s voice snaps around a lump in her throat, although she doesn’t know if she’s choking on a laugh or a sob. “I’ve even prayed to Revali. If that doesn’t raise him from the grave, nothing will.”

Zelda grunts as she lifts herself from her knees, feeling every muscle and joint protest her every movement, She dusts off the bottom of her dress and looks down on Link once more. “My closest friend and trusted protector,” she whispers as she reaches out to lay her hand on Link’s forehead. “I am done begging for the help and blessings of others. Perhaps it is too late, but my faith now lays in you. I know what I must do.”

Slowly, Zelda leans down, bracing one arm on the side of the pedestal until she’s just above Link’s face. Carefully, she presses her lips to his forehead, finding the skin there warm and soft. “Rest now, Link. I am sorry that you can’t be with him just yet. I pray that Hylia grants you sweet dreams of him instead,” she whispers into his skin, and with one last chaste kiss, she pulls away.

“I am afraid that when the time comes I will have to call on you again. It seems our time together, at least in this life, isn’t over yet. I’m only sorry that you will wake up alone.”

When Zelda turns to go this time, she resolutely does not look for back for fear that she will never leave if she does. Somehow, this goodbye is harder than Link’s actual death. She continues forward, even as the door to the Restoration Chambers rumbles shut behind her, the slots of the door locking into place with the key safely inside. She walks past the barrels of supplies and chests of clothes that she isn’t certain will even survive the wait for Link’s awakening.

Nor does she look back when she ascends the stairs out of the cave, the second and final door sliding shut behind her.

It’s a fool’s comfort, thinking that Link will be safe behind those locked doors, but it somehow calms the storm in her heart all the same.

Zelda continues up the stairs until she is faced with the reality of Hyrule, the black, cloudy skies and the smells of burning and death that permeate the realms.

“Princess,” A Sheikah man, standing off to the side, ventures quietly.

“It is done.” She tells him, and he nods in understanding. Zelda turns to face the Rito slightly behind him now, “Hello.”

A pink Rito steps forward, removing her bow from her shoulder and setting it on the ground beside her when she goes to kneel, “Princess Zelda,” she begins.

“Please,” Zelda shakes her head. “You need not bow to the Princess of a ruined kingdom.”

The Rito looks awkwardly down but rises anyhow. “My Lady,” she offers instead, obviously as a loss for words.

“I’m sorry to have called you so far from your home in such dire times.” Zelda tells her, motioning to the cave behind her. “But I haven’t the time to do things proper anymore. Nobody does.”

“It is no bother,” The Rito says.

“I assume the Elder has sent you in his place?” Zelda asks.

“Ah, no,” The Rito woman begins before swallowing. “My name is Colly.”

“Colly,” Zelda repeats. “I’m sorry to have forgotten your name. My manners have been lacking as of late.”

“Revali’s father,” Colly interrupts, because if she doesn’t say it quickly she worries she won’t be able to force it out at all. “The Elder. He passed, two nights ago. After-” her voice breaks into a sob that she quickly swallows. In lieu of words, Colly bends back down to pick up the bow, Revali’s Great Eagle Bow, and holds it out for the Princess to see. “I found it on the ground below Vah Medoh.”

Zelda reaches out and when Colly doesn’t jerk back, she takes Revali’s bow in her hands. She remembers the feel of it, the comforting weight of it when she used it once. When they were under attack by Bokoblins, just after leaving Rito Village to return to the castle. The bow is battered now; There are black marks that Zelda can only guess are scorches and the wood is dented and scratched. The string has been replaced.

The only thing that seems miraculously untouched is the scrap of blue cloth tied at one end, a piece of Revali’s Champion scarf.

“I’m sorry.” Zelda offers as she hands back the bow. Lamely, she knows, but she has little else to give.

“He went peacefully. In his sleep.” Colly continues quietly. “A broken heart, I assume. Perhaps it was for the better, Revali would have hardly survived the loss of his father, I imagine.”

Zelda nods and chews her lip in thought. “So much loss,” is all she can say.

Colly nods.

“You are the Elder now?” Zelda asks, a hint of urgency to her tone.

“Not officially,” Colly shuffles awkwardly in place. “I stepped up when the Guardians attacked and now the people continue to look to me.” After a moments pause her next words are heavy with guilt, “It ought to be Revali.”

“To guide your village through the Calamity is proof enough of your worth.” Zelda reassures her with a gentle touch on the arm.

“Why have you asked me here?” Colly asks instead, gesturing to the cave behind Zelda. “What is this place?”

“Link was mortally wounded protecting me from the Calamity,” Zelda tells her, finding the words ashy and poisonous on her tongue. “I brought him here, to the Shrine of Resurrection, where he will sleep until his body is restored and he may face Ganon once again.”

“That is excellent news!” Colly lights up immediately, her feathers ruffling with excitement. “Then there is hope for Hyrule yet! My people will be heartened to hear this, we can fight back!”

Zelda shakes her head and drops her eyes, unable to stomach Colly’s optimism just yet. “We cannot tell anyone. Link will sleep for many, many years. One hundred, by my estimates. He died and now he must be recovered.”

“I don’t understand,” Colly shakes her head. “Why can we not tell anyone? What are we to do against Ganon? How am I to protect my people for another hundred years when we can barely survive one day to the next?”

“Link cannot be disturbed from his slumber while he recovers,” Zelda explains, although the justifications for keeping such hope a secret from her people does nothing to assuage her guilt. “If Ganon were to somehow find him, he could kill Link before he is strong enough to fight.”

“Only myself, my three trusted researchers, and King Dorephan of the Zora know the truth.” Zelda nods towards Colly. “And now you. The people must believe Link died in the Calamity. For his own protection.”

Colly shakes her head, the weight of this secret already weighing on her, nestled along with the responsibilities of her people, the children of her village. “Why me?” She asks, and is surprised to find her voice sounds almost helpless.

Zelda motions to the Sheikah man standing to the side, silently waiting. “This is Impaz, the son of my trusted advisor and Sheikah warrior. He and his wife have sworn their lives to protect the Shrine of Resurrection so long as Link shall sleep.”

Impaz salutes, but says nothing.

“Link’s safety and secrecy is of the upmost importance. Which is why I ask you, as one of the four realms leaders, if you will pledge yourself to protecting the Shrine of Resurrection, should Impaz call on you.”

“I,” Colly stutters a few more times over her words until she can manage, “But why me? I’m not trained for this. I can hardly lead a village.”

“I haven’t the time to ask anyone else,” Zelda interrupts harshly, though she means nothing by it. “King Dorephan is leading whatever Zora warriors he can spare in an effort to drive back the Guardians, and the Gerudo tribe is fighting back both Guardians and Yiga Clan attacks.” She shakes her head at that. “I haven’t heard back from the Goron clan.”

Colly rubs at her eyes. She suddenly can’t remember the last time she slept for more than a few hours at a time. Finally she sighs, resigned to her fate of higher responsibility. “What do you need me to do?”

“Nothing,” Zelda tells her gently. “Do not breath a word of our secret. Not to your husband, your family, not even your successor. Only be prepared to come if you are called.”

“Not even my successor?” Colly parrots.

“Keeping the Shrine of Resurrection a secret from Ganon and his minions is our utmost priority. By the time you appoint a successor, we hope that Ganon will be too weak to reach as far as the Plateau. If all goes according to plan, Impaz will no longer stand guard at the cave and it will become just another hole in the ground.”

Colly turns this all over in her head, the new information and implications. “I understand,” she sighs. “I think. How exactly do you plan to weaken Ganon at all? If Link is to remain a secret for one hundred years? If things keep like this,” Colly gestures to the dark skies and the outline of a red blood moon behind the clouds that never completely disappears, even in the daytime sky. “There will be no Hyrule to save.”

“Link and I are two sides of a coin.” Zelda says. After a few more moments of quiet thought she continues, “He may be the one to vanquish the evil, but at the very least I can seal it away.”

“Seal it?” Colly sounds a bit suspicious.

“Within the castle.” Zelda nods towards Impaz again. “A group of Sheikah warriors will be arriving soon to escort me as far as Castle Town.” A deep breath and then: “I will hold Ganon in the castle until Link is strong enough to fight him.”

“Princess,” Impaz interrupts gently. “Impa and Purah should be here shortly.”

“Right on time,” Zelda nods to him. “Go to meet them.”

Impaz nods to her before he disappears into the underbrush, leaving Colly and Zelda to their silence.

All of Hyrule is silent these days, not a bird or cricket to be heard between the screams of slaughtered innocents and the roaring of forest fires.

“Link is-” Colly nods towards the opening of the cave. “He’s really in there?”

“Yes.” Zelda allows herself to look back now, fully expecting the stabbing feeling in her heart. “Safe. Resting.”

Colly hums in reply and lets her gaze drop to the ground. “Will you-“ she starts and stops just as quickly. Out of the corner of her eye she can see Zelda turn to her, considering her. The Hylian Princess, Colly had only ever seen her as noble, dressed well and beautiful. Now she is beautiful, but tired, bruised and battered like her kingdom. “Will you take this?” Colly holds out Revali’s bow to her once again. “Revali would want it used to fight evil, but I haven’t the heart to wield it myself.”

Zelda gives Colly a soft, understanding smile, and Colly feels her hand holding the bow quaking. Zelda reaches out, as if to take it, but instead she puts her hand over Colly’s fingers, folding them closed around the grip of the bow.

“Where I am going, weapons will not help me.” Zelda puts both hands over Colly’s now, cradling her fist. “But if you would fix it and keep it somewhere safe, a friend of ours might need it someday. Surely, that’s what Revali would want most.”

Colly swallows and when she manages to force out the words they sound weak and pathetic. Heartbroken. “I understand.”

“Good.” Zelda pats her hands reassuringly and Colly shoulders the bow again. “I am sorry for your loss. Revali is greatly missed by many. He was insufferable at times, but he was a true friend and brave warrior.”

“To the end,” Colly agrees sadly. “Insufferable, to the end.” She amends.

Zelda huffs out a laugh, leaving them in amicable quiet again. Colly is surprised when the Princess speaks again; “What do you look forward to in your future?”

“I beg your pardon?”

Zelda laughs honestly this time, the first time since the Calamity and she’s caught off guard by it. “I am a scared little girl going to face her fate,” she explains. “Let me hear something happy before I go.”

“Uh,” Colly scrambles to come up with an honest answer so unexpectedly. “I look forward to my village, my people, being safe once again.”

“Everyone wants that,” Zelda says coolly. When Colly looks over to her, Zelda is standing in place, her neck craned to look up at the heavens, as if she can pierce the thick black cover and pink lightning that infects their skies now. “Tell me something _you_ want.”

Colly clicks her beak a few times as she thinks. “I’d like,” she begins. “I’d like to have a family, someday. When it is safe again.”

Zelda nods approvingly, her eyes still skyward. “What else?”

“A child.” Colly affirms.

“A strong Rito warrior like yourself.” Zelda says confidently.

“With my luck,” Colly can’t help a genuine giggle at the thought. “It will be a boy. Revali reborn, just as insufferable.”

“I pray to Hylia it comes true.”

There’s a sound in the bushes not far off and both Colly and Zelda turn wit htheir hands on their weapons, expecting Guardians or Yiga Clansmen. Instead, a group of Sheikah warriors emerge from the nearby tree line, two women and a man, and several others behind them.

“I must go soon.” Zelda says, but makes no move to do so.

Colly can’t think of anything appropriate to say – there probably isn’t, anyway - so she nods instead.

“What will you name your son?” Zelda asks.

Colly hums thoughtfully. “I’ve always liked ‘Teba’.”

There’s a cough from the nearby bushes, one of the women who stands in the front of the Sheikah warriors. Zelda acknowledges him with a nod.

“It’s time.” Zelda lets out a quiet breath. “Thank you, Colly. For entertaining my whims.”

“Be safe.” Colly offers in response. “I will pray to Hylia for your victory.”

“All I ask if you help to keep Link safe.” Zelda says. “Farewell, Colly, leader of the Rito people.” She touches two fingers to her forehead, lips, and heart. “May the Goddess smile upon you.”

Colly does not recognize the gesture as a traditional farewell, but mimics it the same. “I won’t fail you, Princess. Or Revali.”

Zelda smiles softly at Colly one last time before she turns to leave. "I have faith."           

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am also very excited to announce that because I am shameless, I've already started plotting out a ONE SHOT SEQUEL to Adrift! Nothing big plot wise, just something that was inspired by the first DLC that I recently completed. I have trouble letting go, sometimes. 
> 
> Thanks again to all who read and kudo and review! We're almost there!


	24. Chapter 24

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Whoa boy, do I feel sort of guilty for shipping Urbosa and Zelda after finding out Urbosa was close friends with Zelda's mother. But then I started shredding it in my Divine Yamaha and things were okay again.

Revali supposes that if he did have to die, at least it was to Calamity Ganon, the greatest of ancient evils in all of Hyrule.

Anything less would have been embarrassing.

Except, he isn’t quite dead. At least, Revali doesn’t think so. His first clue being that when he came back to thoughtful existence, his parents were nowhere in sight.

Not that was something he’d considered before, as the bright side to his eventual death.    

The world Revali inhabits after his death is much like how Link once described his home in the Lost Woods – no proper night, just less bright days. That, and there’s something suspiciously tranquil about it.

It’s a difficult place to describe. Near impossible, when he really thinks about it. He has a vague memory of dying – being killed – but it feels far off and distant, like a tragic loss, long faded, that he no longer thinks about.

Time in this place, whatever after-death place it is, is no longer linear. Revali thinks about how stories are told – things have a chronological order, a chain of cause and effect. At least, in retrospect. Here, time is less of a one-way road and more of lake water. Revali is submerged in it, unable to swim. Instead, he lets the waters take him, watching time pass and events unfold, all the while having a nagging feeling in the back of his head that he’d seen this already, as if he knew the ending to this story at one point but forgot.

His fellow Champions have died; Urbosa, Mipha, and Daruk. But he knows they took haven’t moved on to be with their loved ones, instead drifting aimlessly through time. Revali knows because he sees them sometimes. He catches glimpses of them, distant in the strange in-between that he inhabits. Then he’ll blink and he’ll be alone again, drifting through time like a faraway observer. He thinks about calling out to them, but they’re already aware of one another anyway.

It’s simply that none of them have anything to say.

The Divine Beasts rage for days following the start of the Calamity, and that is what Revali considers the most painful. His beautiful creature, Vah Medoh, is poisoned and tortured by pink and black energy coursing through its wings. She screams in the sky, circling aimlessly as if searching for its pilot. Revali feels like he ought to be fighting, screaming into the smoky abyss that surrounds him to have Vah Medoh back, but he somehow knows it will do him no good.

So he watches and mourns Vah Medoh while Hyrule burns below him.

Hyrule and Castle Town, where Ganon was first awoken, face the brunt of the attack. Within hours, the castle is crumbled and burning, drowning in thick, black smog as monsters flood the halls from the shadows. Castle Town is trampled and it’s people slaughtered. The Hylian army makes a last stand at Hateno Fort and Akkala Citadel only to be crushed along with the hopes of their people.

The other four realms, by sheer luck and distance from the Castle, survive far better.

The Zora fair the best, using the bottleneck of the river to their domain to fend off the worst of the onslaught. King Dorephan has little time to mourn his daughter between protecting his last child, Prince Sidon, and his people. At one point, a guardian breaches their domain and the King nearly loses his life fending it off. Days after the attacks, when they can manage it, King Dorephan leads a band of his greatest and bravest warriors outside the realm to escort back what refugees he finds and kill what Guardians he can. Prince Sidon remains strong for people and never cries for Mipha, although he wants to.

The Goron are at both an advantage and disadvantage – Death Mountain leaves them vulnerable to attacks from any part of the volcano that can be scaled by the many-legged guardians, but the Gorons know how to use their terrain to their advantage. They fight bravely for many days, although they lose many of their own to eruptions and landslides caused by the firing of Guardian lasers into vulnerable rock. Their climate is not hospitable for Hylians fleeing Castle Town, but they set up what few outposts they can at the base of Death Mountain to protect fleeing travelers and provide them with food and shelter.

The Gerudo people face attacks on all fronts, Hylian and Guardian. While Naboris stalks the desert, kicking up sand tornadoes and lightning storms bigger and harsher than ever before, they hinder the movement of the Guardians. Any that aren’t electrocuted are simply buried beneath the sand. Those that make it anywhere near the town are fought off by Urbosa’s Captain of the Guard, newly appointed Chieftan. But they face a second threat, the Yiga Clan that makes their base near the Wastelands and take advantage of the chaos to strike at the town unpredictably. They do little damage, but the Gerudo people are pinned down in their homes for months.

The Rito…

Revali watches this happen like he watches all else – with a heavy heart that already seems to know how it ends, even if his head does not. He registers pain and mourning when his father passes in his sleep, another loving face that does not await Revali in this world of half-death, but he hardly feels it through his numbness. Colly leads the Rito people, expertly and efficiently despite her grief, and he has never been more proud of her. She is battered in battle, run ragged and frightened, but their people weather the attacks of the Guardians well. They cut the bridges that connect the bridges to the edges of Lake Totori, instead ferrying refugees across on their backs, leaving them to fend off the few flying guardians that make it so far.

Revali takes it all in at once – days and weeks and months and years worth of fighting and rebuilding across the four realms. The Champions are missed, they are prayed to and mourned for, but their bodies are never recovered and funerals never properly held. Revali sees that a landing in the village is made in his honor, adorned with his crest, and he watches Colly mourn him there every night. He watches her fall in love again, watchers her marry and bear a son named Teba. And true to word, Teba is very much like him, something that he knows pains and prides Colly in equal measure.

Revali looks away from it, the rebuilding of Hyrule after the Calamity, and what he turns to is Link’s final stand at Hateno.

Revali feels something then, a shock of pain that wracks his whole body, as if he’s been struck by an electric arrow. But the feeling is gone as quickly as it appears, leaving behind just another dull ache in his heart as Link’s eyes slip shut.

Link. Stupid, stupid Link who can barely stand on two legs or lift his sword. Brave, perfect Link who defends the Princess until he can no longer.

Revali watches Zelda take Link to the Shrine of Resurrection, watches her place him on the pedestal with such gentle care. He even hears it, when Link’s heart beats again for the first time.

But, oddly enough, this news brings him no happiness. Link is alive and it ought to make Revali’s heart soar. It ought to give him the courage to fight again, to rage against his own death and claw his way back into the world of the living, if only to prove once and for all he should have been the one to face Calamity Ganon.

Instead there is nothingness inside him. Revali thinks it makes him want to cry, but… Nothing.

Revali turns away to a new time, a new place, where Colly is on her deathbed. Her husband has already passed so she is with Teba now, begging him not to mourn her, as she will finally be reunited with an old and precious friend, something she is looking forward to very much.

In another time and place, Daruk’s son grows big and strong in memory of his father, and has a son of his own named Yunobo. Revali is certain that Daruk would love his grandson very much, even if he is a bit skinny for a Goron.

Urbosa’s Captain of the Guard, Mareeka Raju, rebuilds Gerudo Town and eventually has a daughter of her own, who would make Urbosa proud.

Everything happens like a dream in this world – so real and untouchable all at once. Time passes around Revali like water. Things that have happened and will happen are all the same to him, swirling and disjointed, but it is a chaos that Revali accepts because he hasn’t the desire to fight it.

Although, there is one thing that he feels should be important.

It’s Zelda, three days after Link died, and she’s approaching Hyrule Castle. A group of Sheikah warriors are waiting at the Sacred Grounds, as far as she would permit them to go. They fight her, insisting they take her all the way to the castle, forfeit their lives if they must, but Zelda turns them away with a stern, commanding tone Revali had never heard her use before.

Zelda goes into the castle alone.

She walks, weaponless and proud, never once turning back. What’s left of the castle is thick with pink and black smog, the sludge-like malice of Ganon’s essence coating the floors and walls. But Zelda walks with a glow, a golden light that opens a path before her, clears the air around her. Guardians and monsters come, but with a wave of her hand Zelda renders them back into the smoke from which they came. She continues this walk, through the crumbling remains of her home, until she reaches the Inner Sanctum of the once great castle.

“Urbosa,” Revali hears her say. “Revali, Mipha, Daruk. Link. I pray to you for your strength, and may the Goddess smile upon me…”

There is light, gold and bright.

And then there is nothing.

* * *

 

Revali ducks behind of the columns on Vah Medoh’s back just in time to dodge a laser that shoots what would have been his head. It’s less of a duck and more of a crash landing straight into a messy tumble and he gives himself a knock to the head for it. But his head is largely intact at least – it’s all about perspective, lately.

“Not good, not good,” Revali mutters to himself as he feels the entirety of Medoh shake with the impact. Revali has never taken Medoh into this kind of battle, and he’s not sure how many direct hits to the wing she can take. But it’s a Divine Beast, for Hylia’s sake, it’s got to be _robust_.

There’s another sound of charging power followed closely by a laser shot that hits the pillar Revali’s tucked behind and he feels it starting to crumble against his back. Not wanting to risk a third, Revali grabs his bow with his talons before shooting off into the sky.

“Quit shooting my bird!”

Revali barely dodges returning fire as he tries to circle up and around whatever this thing is that’s invaded Medoh, although the design is frighteningly similar. It’s composed of sludge like malice come to life, plated in scraps of Ancient Sheikah technology, with a black mask for a face and a single blue eye for Revali to play target practice with. If only he could catch an angle on it - the phantom manages to keep Revali at bay with the laser on it’s arm, and even if he gets close, the thing teleports away as soon as he’s got the shot.

The phantom is on Medoh’s back still, aiming the laser cannon it uses for a hand while the energy recharges. Before it has the chance to shoot, Revali bends over backwards, feeling his feathers protest the drag against the wind he’d been riding. The sudden change in direction has him dropping out of the sky in a hopefully unexpected move, but by the time Revali has his bow in hand and an arrow nocked, the phantom’s already moved in the blink of an eye.

“Damn it!” Revali grits his beak and throws out his wings, catching an updraft so suddenly it threatens to wrench his arms out of their sockets, but it’s better than catching a laser to the chest.

It hits his leg instead, and it’s awfully telling of where Revali is in life, that he’s happy to be shot in the leg.

 _Holy Hylia, it burns_. But Revali purposefully does not waste time gawking over it - Ganon’s phantom is already charging another shot. For lack of a better plan, Revali drops down again, aiming for the nearest pillar on Medoh’s back, a safe enough distance from the phantom. As far as Revali can tell, the beast will only change positions if Revali comes within a certain distance to it.

It’ll buy him a few seconds, which is better than nothing.

The landing is about as gentle as the entire fight’s been. Revali’s head swims a bit as he comes to a stop, his back pressed against the stone pillar as he takes stock of his injuries. Bruises, fractured ribs, sprained muscles, no doubt a concussion. And now to top it off, a laser wound on his leg. Luckily he’d been only grazed, but he’s got a substantial gash for it, oozing blackish blood, and that _cannot be good_. He’s hit with another wave of nausea when the smell of his own burnt flesh reaches his nose.

Revali rips the hem of his tunic, pulling off a strip long enough to wrap around his leg. Bless Hylia for adrenaline, he feels nothing more than a slight burning as he pulls it tight across his leg, looping it twice before knotting it over the wound. It’ll have to do for now as Revali tries to puzzle out his next move.

A laser blast shakes the pillar behind his back. The phantom may follow orders to a tee but at least it can’t think for itself.

“Come on,” Revali mumbles to himself. His usual strategies are moot; the phantom's ranged weapon kept him from attacking at a safe distance like he normally does, and even if Revali closes the gap between them it can still teleport away. Revali doesn’t dare bring it inside the Beast where he’d have more to hide behind – too many shots might bring Medoh down with him trapped inside.

That’s when it occurs to Revali. It’s almost flattering; “Ganon, old pal!” He shouts into the air over the sound of a charging laser cannon. “Did you make up this beastie just for me?”

Great, now Revali is talking to it. He blames it on the blood loss; the only thing this phantom seems to understand is what a laser is and who to point it at. Revali shakes his head and blinks his eyes hard against the vertigo. That can’t be good. But dying rarely is, or so he’s heard.

Never mind fighting – if this keeps up the phantom will simply outlast him.

Revali quickly takes stock of his weapons, weighing his options for the least worst. Another laser shot rocks the whole beast.

“One, two, three, four…”

Another blast, another shake.

“One, two, three, four, five.”

Another blast, another shake. This time, the pillar Revali’s hiding behind starts to crack at the foundation.

“One, two.” Revali nocks a bomb arrow, gripping two more in his talons as he spreads his wings.

“Three, four.” Revali closes his eyes and waits for the wind.

“Five!”

With a last burst of energy, Revali rockets himself into the sky just as the laser fires and brings the pillar to ruin. It crumbles in a cloud of dust, something he uses to his advantage as Revali’s Gale takes him up and up, until he’s slightly higher than the phantom. Using his momentum Revali twists, turning to face the phantom and for a moment time slows down.

Or maybe that’s the concussion.

The phantom is still searching the rubble of the pillar for Revali when he draws his bowstring. He fires one bomb arrow at an upward angle, watching it arch up until it peaks and slowly starts to descend. The phantom sees it, calculates that it will fall short, and ignores it, opting instead to charge it's laser again.  

“One, two,” Revali nocks two more bomb arrows at once and within the span of a breath he’s already set them loose, this time at a downward angle.

"Three, four." He doesn’t wait to see if they connect. Revali folds his wings and tucks his chin, diving down to follow the path of his bomb arrows, not far behind.

Revali hears it when the first bomb arrow is hit by the second and third, connecting on the downward descent just in front of the phantom. With his eyes closed, Revali has to feel for the change in the air as he enters the smoke created by the explosion. The sound of the laser has stopped but he can hear the clanking of the ancient technology that the phantom uses as armor. Acting more on prayer than intuition, Revali throws out his wings, catching himself on another updraft as he draws his bow back, all with his eyes closed.

Once he opens them, Revali estimates he has about two seconds of clear vision to make his shot before the smoke completely blinds him.

He opens his eyes, already rasiing his bow, and in one fluid motion he aims for the bright blue eye of the phantom, the only thing barely visible through the smoke and looses another arrow.

Revali’s arrow strikes true. As it always does, of course. The sharp pinging sound of the arrow is music to his ears and Revali throws out his wings again to catch another updraft. When he’s up higher and clear of the smoke, Revali can see that the phantom is hunched over, stunned by the critical strike.

“Now, this I can work with!” Revali crows in triumph, intending to ride an air current to a safe distance and repeat the action. Knowing that a shot to the eye will stun the phantom is heartening – next time Revali can follow up his attack with a hit from his feathered edge and be in and out before the phantom recovers.

“Let’s get this over with!” Revali shrieks out, letting the wind guide him up and around to circle the phantom again. “The sooner we finish this, the sooner I can show Link how it’s done!”

And then… Revali is falling.

 _My wings…_ he tries to move them, tries to throw out his arms and catch himself as he careens headfirst down, gaining speed with every second. This doesn't make sense.  _My wings… why won’t they…_

The pain registers then. Four points of blazing, burning, agonizing painin his back, one for each wing and two for between his shoulders.

When Revali collides with the ground, all the pain disappears.

Thank Hylia for the small miracles…

He lands face up, although he doesn't see it, or, more alarmingly, he doesn't feel it. Stunned, Revali can do nothing but blink his eyes, urging his brain to catch up with his body. His bow? Where is his bow?

“No…” Revali coughs, and blood sprays from his beak into the air. “Move, damn it! Revali, move!”

He feels something warm and wet at the back of his head, and although he tells his arms to move, his head to turn, his body doesn’t answer. He's stuck staring up at the sky as the phantom slowly moves into view.

Floating behind it are four smalls… things? Small cannons, like the one the phantom had been firing from it’s arm, but they’re floating independent of it, spinning in place and humming quietly.

“You coward,” Revali coughs out. Blood doesn’t spray with his words this time, instead he feels it pooling in the back of his throat, threatening to choke him. “You shot me in the back…” He manages to force out with a laugh. He can't believe this, why is he laughing?

Goddess, why won’t his arms move.

Ganon’s phantom peers down at him, cocking its head like it’s curious as it examines Revali’s broken body.

“Fight me like a real warrior,” Revali grinds out, and the original feeling of nothingness is quickly fading into something cold, starting with his feet and his fingertips. “I’ll destroy you, you old piece of junk."

Revali strains his periphery, trying to find something, do anything. He tries to reach around for a weapon, _where is his bow?_ But his smart mouth seems to be the only thing working. Ironic.

Move, damn it, get up, Revali, you need to get up! What kind of Champion are you?

The phantom leans down, it’s gangly arms hanging down like dead limbs now that its target is effectively neutralized. It tilts its face the other way, considering Revali with its blue eye. The four cannons buzz impatiently behind it until eventually the phantom pulls back enough to raise its laser canon, pointed directly at Revali.

“Are you kidding me?” Revali laughs. Genuinely laughs. Judging from the height, the speed at impact, and the lack of feeling in his extremities, this is overkill.

_One, two._

“Looks like you win this time, Link.” Revali manages to spit some of the blood from his mouth, enough to speak. “Sorry...”

_Three, four._

Revali refuses to close his eyes or look away.

_Five._

The force of the blast rocks Vah Medoh, sending Revali’s Great Eagle Bow over the edge.

* * *

 It is one hundred years before Hyrule breathes again.

The Hero’s soul is bound to more than the sacred blade – it is intertwined with Hyrule itself: the land, the animals, and all it’s people. Link is Hylia’s last and greatest gift to her children, and it is felt across the realms when he finally wakes. The sun rises higher, the rivers run clearer, the winds blow stronger; As if the land itself knows that a nightmare is soon coming to it’s end.

And with Link, wake the Champions.

Revali comes to with a jolt, as if he’s been half asleep and the past one hundred years no more than a fever dream. The half-death haze that once trapped him melts away to reveal what has become of Hyrule.

And with the Champions, wake the Beasts.

A bond as strong as the one between a Beast and it’s Pilot is never broken, not completely. After Zelda sealed Ganon inside the Castle, the Beasts fell dormant, the lights inside them snuffed like candle flames. They fell where they stood, never to move again while Hyrule rebuilt. But the day hope returned to Hyrule, as if called by their true masters, the Beasts came to life like mountains moved to action.

In the east, Vah Ruta stood from its place in East Reservoir Lake with a cry so loud it shook the realm. The survivors of the Calamity saw the great creature move, tilting it’s trunk to the sky and raining flood waters onto their domain.

Once nestled in the crater of Death Mountain, Vah Rudania emerged from the laval, it’s every step bringing landslides upon the mines. It slithered across the mountain, biding its time as it brought fireballs upon the people it once protected.

In the Gerudo Desert, where Vah Naboris was once buried half beneath the sand, electric storms raged and thundered. Those who ventured too close to the beast were lost to the sand storms it created as it stalked the desert, lashing out at friends and foe alike.

To the far west, above Totori Lake, Vah Medoh spread its mechanical wings and took to the sky. Once considered a silent protector, Medoh now circled the skies, shooting down any Rito who dared take flight in their home.

For the first time in one hundred years, hope and despair came hand in hand, once again.

Like the Champions, Ganon’s essence lingered.

With the Divine Beasts still under the control of the phantoms, Revali was powerless to stop Medoh from terrorizing the thing he gave his life to protect. He was tied to his Divine Beast as it was to him, despite the corruption by Ganon, and he would have it no other way. 

“Soon, Medoh,” Revali would comfort his Beast as they watched Link, empty-minded and stupid, claw his way from his hundred year slumber.

Although freed from his state of half-death, Revali could still not take physical shape and appear to the living as King Rhoam did. How he ached to do so – to be the first thing Link saw when he woke, the first voice he heard, the first touch he felt.

But Revali was tethered to Vah Medoh. Whether as her pilot or a vengeful spirit, it mattered not.

“The fool,” Revali mused aloud as Link picked up a tree branch off the ground just outside the Shrine, testing its weight in his hand, wielding it like the Master Sword, of all things. “I know it’s a bit late to be second guessing, but is he really the one meant to defeat hatred and malice incarnate?”

It would take time. Link was completely without memory, even of his beloved. Revali supposes he can’t take it personally, seeing as Link didn’t remember the Princess Zelda, or any of the other Champions. And he was weak, not even a fraction of the Hero he once was.

Urbosa had saying she was fond of - it was something Zelda’s mother used to say when she was still alive.

Co _urage need not be remembered, for it is never forgotten._

With any luck, the same is true of other things.

So Revali hopes.

And waits.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ONE. LEFT. ONE. LEFT. Thank you to everybody! Did anyone else tear up a little at the end of The Champion's Ballad?
> 
> FINAL CHAPTER WILL BE POSTED ON 1/14 by 7 pm central.


	25. Chapter 25

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's happening. I can hardly believe it. When I first started writing this fic, it was supposed to be about 50k words...
> 
> If anyone is that special kind of masochistic, I played "Fi's Gratitude" from Skyward Sword on loop for like four hours to set the mood while I tried to make this perfect. If anyone wants to listen to it while they read, here's the link. I'd like to think it fits nicely after the first line break. 
> 
> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4il1aWstQFU
> 
> Here we go!

“Pathetic,” Revali mumbles to himself as he watches Link set himself on fire by swinging a lit torch in a field of tall grass. He’s starting to think he’ll never be avenged, not when his best hope is Link who woke up from a hundred year nap with apparently half the brain he had going into it.

Not that Revali loves Link any less for it – bless the little guy, he’s clearly trying his best. Link just has a lot of mountains to climb. Metaphorically. And physically, because he keeps trying to scale them in the rain, and, well.

Revali supposes being a vengeful spirit tied to the place of his murder for the rest of existence wouldn't be all bad. He just wishes that he could have physical hands again so that he could come down from Vah Medoh and physically _throttle_ his idiot Promised and get his perky little butt in gear.

Except for the part where Link doesn’t remember they’re Promised. Revali passes too many days torturing himself, wondering if what woke up from that sleep is really his Link, or if it’s someone new entirely.

Link has stopped speaking again. Not to say that he ever properly started, but Revali considered their verbal conversation great strides in the relationship. Now, Link has nothing to say, and no one to say it to as he wanders through the ruins of the Temple of Time, seeking the guidance of King Rhoam’s ghost. And it breaks Revali’s heart to see the one he still loves – no matter how he’s changed – alone and confused like that.

Also, who decided King Rhoam got to appear in the physical world? That’s some unfair, monarchical nonsense, if you ask Revali.

Then again, King Rhoam wasn’t blasted in the face by Calamity Ganon, so. Revali isn’t quite sure how this whole purgatory thing works, but he assumes being blasted in the face has something to do with it.

And it occurs to him that he should be mad about it. Livid, about being dead and separated from the ones he loves. Robbed of the change to have his own family, the chance to grow old and fat with his friends. But that just feels like old news now – he’s technically been dead for a hundred years already.

So Revali passes much of his time watching and waiting. Thinking about Link, worrying over Link. Wondering if Colly is in a happier afterlife, hopefully laughing it up with his father about what a mess of a situation Revali’s gotten himself into. He’d never really been one for mental introspection, but his options of activity are limited as of late. Other times, Revali tests his boundaries. He’s got a body, green like spirit fire, and he’s somehow in his favorite outfit, Champion scarf and all. But it seems that only he can see it. A pity, Revali always thought the Champion scarf made him look rather dashing.

Revali also can’t leave Vah Medoh. He can see and hear and watch any corner of Hyrule that he pleases, but there’s no way to leave and interact with it. Not that he would want to leave his beautiful beast anyway, at least not until she’s free of Ganon’s malice. Nor can he control Vah Medoh, no matter how hard he tries. After all, he couldn’t stop Vah Medoh from shooting Teba and his friend out of the sky. Colly’s own son. A part of Revali hopes he’s condemned to purgatory forever, because if he does move on to the afterlife he’ll never hear the end of it from her. In Revali’s esteemed opinion, getting shot out of the sky is good character building.

He looks forward to that, seeing Colly again.

“Soon,” Revali tells Vah Medoh every night as he wanders her many halls, running his hand over the strong stone of her body.

She never answers back, but Revali doesn’t take it personally.

Meanwhile, once Link is strong enough he goes to Zora’s Domain first, something that Revali does take personally.

Because Sidon.

The last time Revali saw Mipha’s younger brother, Sidon was a sniffling trout with a head tail that dragged on the ground behind him. Revali supposes he could have been cute, by sharp-toothed fish standards. The one time they’d spoken, Sidon had been running down the halls of the Domain and tripped over his head tail, sending himself skidding across the floor on his knees and elbows. Revali, being the kind, loving Rito that he was, had picked the boy up off the ground and told him to slow down if he was going to trip like an idiot.

The child had burst out into big, fat tears, running over his chubby cheeks as he wailed. Revali had been nearly harpooned for his trouble.

What business did that screeching tadpole have growing up to be a strapping ten feet tall with a crush on Link just as large?

Revali fumes quietly to himself as Sidon kneels down to shake Link’s hands and gush his praises. “So what if he’s got a shining smile?” Revali asks Medoh like an old gossiping hen. “Skilled at archery? I think I’ll be the judge of that, thank you.”

Link does his bashful nod, thanks Sidon for his hospitality, and asks to be taken to Vah Ruta, which of course Sidon jumps at, because he just has to be the strongest swimmer in all of Zora’s Domain, doesn’t he.

Revali’s not bitter, not in the least. He’s dead after all. Link is his no longer – free to live and love who he wants.

He just tries not to think about it.

Link enters Vah Ruta and kills the blight that murdered Mipha, freeing her spirit and Ruta in the process. Revali sees when Mipha is freed, able to appear to Link as a spirit and retake control of her Divine Beast. They share words, words that Revali does not spy on. Soon after, Vah Ruta moves, for the first time of it’s own will as it’s pilot commands. Slowly, it makes it’s way to a nearby cliff and fixes its laser on Hyrule Castle.

For the first time in a hundred years, Revali feels something like life in his veins. There has always been hope, but the day is finally coming, and Revali is more than ready when Link sets his sights on Rito Village next.

Revali thinks that Medoh might be feeling it too. “I told you,” he tells her, kneeling down and pressing his forehead to her back to feel her heartbeat, the thrum of electricity through her body, stronger than it has ever been. “Soon, you’ll be free.”

In retrospect, maybe they should tone down the excitement though. When Link first steps foot in Rito Village, both Revali and Medoh cry out in triumph with enough force to shake the entire Roost and make small waves in Totori Lake. Which could have, Revali supposes, been misconstrued as threatening. In his defense, Link took his sweet time getting here, and doesn’t seem to remember that they were in love, but Revali could forgive all that if Link could just _get up here_.

“Please, try not to shoot Link when he comes,” Revali tells Medoh as conversationally as he can while the new Elder tells Link about Medoh plaguing their skies. “He might take it the wrong way.”

Revali can’t say he’s surprised when Medoh tries with all her might to blast Link out of the sky once he and Teba are within firing distance. He’s left with nothing to do but grind his beak, caught between wanting Link to be safe wanting him not to damage Medoh with his bomb arrows.

Once Medoh’s turrets and shields are down, Teba drops Link gently onto Medoh’s back, only a few feet from Revali.

When Link surveys the Divine Beast as if it’s his first time being there, Revali can’t say he’s surprised by that either.

Heartbroken, yes. Surprised, no.

So Revali clears his throat, and prepares himself to guide Link into a battle that he prays won’t be the death of him.

* * *

_Well, I’ll be plucked, you defeated him, eh? Who would’ve thought…_

Link jumps at the sound of Revali's voice again, like being snuck up on by a stranger, and Revali would be lying if he said it didn’t strike a nerve somewhere in his chest. He lets himself take shape behind Link, relishing in his renewed strength now that his spirit is free. He’s careful to appear nonchalant, even detached. He doesn’t know what would happen, if he tried to force Link to remember something he couldn’t.

Link, his love, turns to face him for the first time and Revali wonders if Link even remembers what he looked like. Not sure he could handle it if Link simply never remembered.

When Link turns to lock eyes, Revali is met with what he feared – nothing but a blank stare.

So Revali steels himself. He wants to kiss Link. Wants to hold him, whisper to him the things they shared and the future they’d planned together. “Well done,” he says instead, as dismissively as his heart will allow. “I suppose I should thank you now that my spirit is free. This returns Medoh back to its rightful owner!”

Link nods at him, as if he doesn’t need thanks. For the briefest moment, Revali feels rage flare in his chest, although it dies down just as quickly, leaving behind just a burning hurt. “Don’t preen yourself for just doing your job.”

Link doesn’t playfully rise to the bait like he would have back then.

“I do suppose you’ve proven your value as a warrior.” Revali cocks his head and pretends to consider Link as condescendingly as he can. He even hums to himself, feigning contemplation, as if his mind wasn’t made up when he first told Link he loved him. “A warrior worthy of my unique ability. The scared skill that I have dubbed Revali’s Gale!”

Revali raises one hand above his head, calling the winds to his cause once more. He feels it gathering in his palm, what’s left of the power in his spirit circling into a tight ball of energy in his hand. When it feels right, when it feels strong, he tosses it at Link, aiming directly for his chest.

If only Link remembered enough about him to appreciate the grandeur.

Revali’s aim is true as always, striking Link above the heart. Wind gathers beneath his Hylian feet, growing there to create an updraft strong enough to lift him off the ground and then several feet into the air. Revali watches proudly as Link moves effortlessly into a backflip before landing on his feet in a crouch.

Revali congratulates himself on a job well done. Sure, he wishes Link would remember more about him – about them - but this is okay. It has to be. “It is now-"

“Revali…”

He stops, his words dead in his throat, but doesn’t look up. Revali doesn’t think his heart could take it if he’s wrong. He can handle dying, he can handle being away from Link, but being completely forgotten…

“Revali?”

He looks up this time.

Link’s eyes are big. So, so big, and blue, just like Revali remembers. And his mouth is hanging open just a little, like he’s been struck upside the head with something.

“What?” Revali tries not to let his voice shake. “A simple ‘thank you’ will do, no reason to break that poor little brain of yours.”

“I…” Link blinks a few times and finally pushes himself up to his feet. “I forgot… I can’t believe I forgot.”

Revali clicks his beak while he decides how to respond. Eventually, he settles on an easy truth. “It’s not your fault.”

“I’m so sor-”

“Don’t.” Revali cuts him off with a shake of his head. “It’s alright, Link.” He gestures with a sweep of his wings, trying to mask his hurt with pomp and grandeur. “You have returned Vah Medoh to me. I suppose all can be forgiven.”

“I remember,” Link runs a hand through his hair, windswept and sticking out at every angle, the way it does when he’s had a restless night’s sleep. “You and I, we were… We were going to get married.”

“Well,” Revali says fondly, “If I knew that throwing you in the air would make you remember me, I would have done it much sooner.”

Link is still looking at Revali, all bug-eyed and in love while his brain plays catch up to his memories.

“But of all the great fun we had together,” Revali crosses his arms as he mumbles mostly to himself, “Revali’s Gale is what made you remember it all?”

“Revali-”

“I’m no fertility God, but I thought my performance in bed would be _memorable_ , you know what I mean? At the very least, not completely forgettable-”

“Revali!”

“What?” Revali finally looks up at Link. The kid, he’s really no more than a kid, looks like he’s about to burst into tears. “Alright,” Revali shakes his head and smiles before opening his arms. “Come on, then.”

Revali can’t remember the last time he physically felt something – it must have been about a hundred years ago now, the last time he had an actual body. But Link is there now, crashing into him with enough force to send Revali stumbling backwards until he can get his footing again.

“Careful,” Revali coos as Link buries his face into his chest, wraps his arms around Revali’s chest like a vice. “You could have run straight through me and gone right over the edge.”

Link grunts something and squeezes tighter.

“Can’t be helped,” Revali whispers quietly, reaching up to pet Link’s hair and tuck the Hylian’s short little head under his chin. “I’m here now.”

“I missed you so much,” Link mumbles without pulling away. If anything he tries to burrow closer, grabbing fistfuls of Revali’s tunic and feathers. It stings, but that’s just another feeling Revali has gone so long without out that he welcomes it now.

“You didn’t even remember me until ten seconds ago.” Revali gently rubs his chin over Link’s head, soaking up the smell, somehow so familiar even after so long.

“I knew something was missing. Someone. I’m sorry,” Link’s shoulders are starting to tremble. “I’m so sorry, Revali. Please forgive me.”

“Nothing to forgive,” “Revali slips a hand underneath Link’s shield, drawing gentle circles over Link’s back. “I’ve missed you so much.”

“I’m sorry, I couldn’t beat Ganon.” Link is starting to sob fully now, for the second time since Revali’s ever met him. “I wasn’t strong enough to save you. I’m sorry, Revali, I’m so sorry to everybody. It should have been me-”

“Stop, stop, stop.” Revali jabs Link in the head with the tip of his beak, getting an angry yelp from the little Hylian for it. “How dare you disgrace my memory like that?”

“What?”

“I never want to hear those words again.” Revali grabs Link by the shoulders, forcing them apart for him to glare down at Link. “Urbosa, Daruka, Mipha, and myself, we made our choices. None of us were strong enough, but we died honorably fighting to protect our homes. To remember it any differently would be an insult.”

Link bites his lip and nods, afraid to open his mouth in case another sob came out.

“Wipe your face,” Revali mumbles, grabbing the front of Link’s tunic and lifting it up to scrub at his nose and eyes. “It’s unbecoming.”

“You’re right,” Link says around a laugh as he takes over wiping his tears. “You’re right.”

“Of course I am.” Revali grabs Link around the shoulders again and pulls him back into their embrace. “Come here.”

Revali surprises himself by humming in content as Link’s head finds it’s way under his chin again. “I love you still.”

“I love you.” Link echoes back to him, and for a moment all is right with the world.

Revali doesn’t know how long they stay like that, but he would keep them like this forever if he could. Every second he spends with Link, warmth returns to his body as if he’s alive again. He keeps petting Link’s back and his hair, reacquainting himself with hundred year old memories.

“You know,” Revali begins once the shaking in Link’s shoulders stop and his breathing evens out. “I never did see a sunset with you on the Roost.”

“What?” Link cranes his neck to look up at Revali first, and then follow his line of vision to the horizon. “Oh,” he breathes out. Link hadn’t even noticed the sun was starting to set beyond Medoh's wings. He'd lost track of time while inside Medoh. 

“I also never told you,” Revali gently turns Link around in his arms, until they’re pressed chest to back facing the sunset. “Why it was so important.”

"Because it’s romantic?” Link ventures.

“Don’t interrupt me,” Revali snorts and that get’s a giggle from Link, who laces his fingers with Revali’s where they’re wrapped around him. “It’s not something you would read about it your books.”

Link hums and waits patiently.

“It’s sort of embarrassing, actually,” Revali clicks his beak.

Link peers up at him.

“Rito Culture…” Revali begins, fumbling for a serious explanation. “We have a thing about bird puns, alright? _I was winging it. Well I’ll be plucked_ ,” Revali rambles off as examples.

Link snorts and shakes his head, turning back to the sunset.

“The point is,” Revali continues, “In Rito Village, when you’re going to ask your Intended to marry you, you ask them to see the sunset. The joke is that a cock asks a hen up to the Roost, where he will ask her to roost with him as his wife.” Revali peers down at Link. “Get it? Roost and roost?”

Link rolls his eyes so hard he risks giving himself mental damage.

“I told you I’m not proud of it," Revali jabs Link with his beak again, gently this time. “But watching the sunset from the Roost with the one you love is… An intimate act.”

Link just shakes his head and smiles, pulling Revali’s arms tighter.

“Do you remember at Hyrule Castle after we first met? On the archery range?” Revali can't stop himself from breaking out into a full smile. “That morning when you asked me to take you to see the sunset on the Roost, you were asking me to marry you. In Rito culture, of course.”

Link whips around in Revali’s arms to look up at him, his mouth hanging open like Revali is trying to slander his good name.

“I have to say, even as the Rito Champion, I’d never been solicited so blatantly. I was quite taken aback.”

“I did not!” Link squeaks out, giving Revali a playful shove. “You should have said something!”

“Well it’s a moot point by now, isn’t it?” Revali snorts. He moves to sit, carefully dragging Link down with him to settle between his legs. “Let’s just enjoy the sunset now…” He steels himself again. “Because once it’s over you have to leave.”

“Revali-” Link is fighting him immediately, trying to turn in his arms to face him, but Revali holds him tight to his chest.

“Don’t argue me,” Revali coos, rubbing his cheek to Link’s from behind. “Just let me give you this, please? It’s my last chance…”

Slowly, Link settles.

It’s perfect, to Revali. Sure, he could be alive, with a real body instead of a form made of spirit fire. And the Calamity could have never happened, lives never lost, and the temperature more agreeable. But with Link in his arms again, everything is perfect. They watch the sun sink in the sky, casting shades of pink, red, and peach across the green grass of healing lands. Long shadows stretch out over ruins of towns they once visited, over the haunted halls of the castle where they fell in love.

And it’s perfect.

Revali and Link take turns whispering the word _love_ back and forth as the shadows get longer and the sun gets lower. Until darkness is overtaking the vibrant colors of the sunset, and Revali knows it’s time for Link to move on. 

“Come,” Revali whispers with one last squeeze, trying to memorize every bit of Link that he can – the curve of his jawline, the feel of his hair. “It’s time for you to return to the world of the living.”

Revali forces himself to his feet, pulling Link back up with him. “Oh, Link.” He breathes when Link turns to face him, his eyes welling up again. “Don’t cry,” he whispers, gently brushing the tears away. “Don’t cry.”

“Let me stay,” Link knocks his hand away from his face. “Please. Please, let me stay with you just a little longer, Revali.”

Revali shakes his head. “Urbosa and Daruk are waiting.” He tries to pull Link into another embrace. "Hyrule needs you."

“But I need _you_!” Link screams, shoving Revali away with all his might, enough for Revali to nearly fall over. Revali is taken aback by the sudden shout as Link curls his fists at his sides, his head down. “I need you…” he repeats, quieter this time, and Revali can see that he’s crying again.

Revali smiles and shakes his head, filled a strength he didn’t know he had anymore. “You have me, Link.” He reaches out again and this time Link lets himself be pulled into another quick embrace. Revali gives him a hard squeeze before pulling away, holding Link at arm’s length again. “You’ve always had me, since the day we first met.”

Gently, Revali puts a finger under Link’s chin, tipping his face up to bring their eyes together. “My thoughts and my heart have always been yours.”

If Link has words, they’re cut off by a sob in the back of his throat.

“So long as you have Revali’s Gale, I will be with you.” Revali gently places a hand over Link’s chest, cherishing the steady thrum of his heartbeat. “When you feel the wind on your face, beneath your glider, know that it’s me.”

“But you’ll disappear.” Link forces out. He scrubs at his eyes again, takes deep, calming breaths, and Revali knows he’s already won. “I don’t want you to go. I can't do this alone.”

“I will never disappear, Link.” Revali moves his hand from Link’s heart to brush a few wild strands of hair from his eyes. “There is strength in me still, and I will use all that I have to aid you in vanquishing Ganon. Take my Gale with you, wherever you go, and I will never disappear.”

Link covers his mouth with one hand as he shakes his head. Revali knows it must be overwhelming, all these new memories, this war that is now his alone. Revali wishes he could do more – do everything for Link. But all he can offer is, “I love you, Link.”

Link swallows and nods. “Wait for me.”

“Hah!” Revali shakes his head. “I’m flattered, but do not rush to your death, Link.” He pats Link’s cheek. “I will always wait.”

“I’m sorry,” Link says, placing his hand over Revali’s. “I’m sorry I didn’t come sooner. Remember you sooner.”           

Revali shrugs the apology away. “This one goodbye is already so much more than I could have wished for.”

“I love you.” Link says, and he doesn’t try to stop Revali from pulling away this time.

“I love you.” Revali promises back. “Don’t go forgetting again.”

Link nods once.

“It’s now time to move on and start making preparations for Medoh’s strike on Ganon.” Revali says, feeling a bit stronger in the decision now that he’s said it aloud. “But only if you think you’ll still need my help while you’re fighting inside Hyrule Castle.”

Link laughs and rolls his eyes, as if he expected anything less dramatic.

“Feel free to thank me now.” Revali tries to sound like his old self, headstrong and independent, but it just feels wrong. “Or… never mind, just go…Your job is far from finished you know.”

Revali turns away from Link as he says it. And perhaps it’s the cowardly thing to do, but he can’t hold back tears any longer and he won’t have Link’s last memory of him be tainted by his weakness.

There’s a light sound when Link is swallowed by the gold light to be returned to Hyrule, where he is needed most.

“The Princess has been waiting an awful long time…” Revali reminds himself.

* * *

Vah Medoh is finally returned to her rightful owner. Revali feels her power within him, as for the first time he gives a command as she follows. Like learning to fly again, Revali directs his beautiful bird to the Roost, back home, where she perches and spreads her wings. With another simple command, Medoh chargers her laser, focusing in on Hyrule Castle with ease. It joins with Ruta, far to the East, and soon Rudania and Naboris will be with them as well.

“Medoh’s sights are now set.” Revali smiles to him from where he stands on Medoh’s shoulder. “You’ll have a precide bead on Ganon from this vantage point. And when the time is right, give him everything you’ve got! Now we wait for that perfect moment…”

Revali stretches his wings and fluffs his feathers. The feeling of having his bond with Medoh restored in indescribable. “Medoh, we’ve been artfully patient for the last hundred years. I doubt you’ll suffer a feather over a few more moments…”

Medoh responds with the groaning of her Ancient Sheikah tech, whirring in excitement.

"After all these years, I simply must admit the truth…” Revali tells her, confident that this secret will remain between them. “Even without the power of flight, Link made his way to this Divine Beast. And accomplished something that even I could not… Guess I was wrong about… how lucky he would be.”

Revali hears the war cry of his people, and sees several Rito taking to the sky, perhaps expecting Medoh to be a threat. Out of the many, Revali is able to pick out Teba’s white plumage. Even injured, he’s armed himself with a bow.

“I hope that luck holds out, Link.” Revali smiles fondly down at his home. “For everyone’s sake.”

* * *

 

_Now my moment has finally come. Brace yourself, Ganon, for the sting of my revenge!_

_This will be our final opportunity. We will not fail!_

_Let’s go, little guy! Now! Open up wide, Ganon!_

_A hundred years in the making… Hold on, Princess. Our moment has arrived!_

* * *

“Yes!” Daruk pumps one gigantic fist in the air, the chains around his chest clanking with the movement. “I knew they could do it!”

“Don’t forget the part we played.” Revali reminds him, although there is no sting to his words. He’s missed Daruk’s incessant optimism, far more than he will admit.

“Peace is finally restored to Hyrule,” Mipha clasps her hands in front of her like a prayer, and her soft, quiet voice is like an old song to Revali’s ears.

“And safety to our people.” Urbosa adds on, her hands on her hips in triumph. “I knew Zelda would find her power eventually.”

“My precious daughter,” King Rhoam says. “I am so proud of her.”

The five of them, still tethered to this world by a thread, watch Link and Zelda walk away from Hyrule Castle, the Calamity finally defeated.The castle's hallowed halls are nothing but ruins now, and Revali wonders if the Princess will ever try to rebuild, or leave it as a monument to what's been lost. Far below them, Link and Zelda walk away from the battlefield until clear skies and a shining sun, the evil vanquished and sealed.

Revali looks around at his fellow Champions. They've been waiting for the end of this road for so long, they don’t know what to do now that they've arrived.

“Thank you, Champions.” King Rhoam turns to the four of them. “For your sacrifice and your bravery.”

“You're welcome,” Revali replies in all seriousness, which was apparently impolite because Urbosa elbows him harshly for it. Revali rolls his eyes – who cares about decorum? They’re dead, for Hylia’s sake.

“It is time,” King Rhoam continues on, turning back to his daughter and her Knight. “For me to be with my beloved wife again.” With those last few words, the green spirit fire of his body begins to fade, slowly at first and then all at once, replaced by a gentle breeze as he moves on from this life.

“Mine too!” Daruk pipes up, although his enthusiasm quickly gives way for hesitation. “Boy, will she be mad at me. I’m running about a hundred years late.”

“I’m sure she’ll forgive you, Daruk.” Mipha comforts him with a gentle pat on the arm. “I’m looking forward to seeing my mother and telling her all about Sidon.”

“I’ll race you there!” Daruk tells her good-naturedly. “See you on the other side!” He shouts to the other Champions before flickering out of sight with a wave.

“Last one is a rotten fish egg!” Mipha jokes, and with one last wistful look at Link, she too blinks out of sight.

Revali and Urbosa, the last of them, exchange knowing looks.

“I missed you.” Urbosa says first, a playful smile curling her painted lips.

“Didn’t everyone?” Revali shrugs at her. “Your absence was noted.”

Urbosa throws her head back as she laughs, and it’s nice to know that some things will never change. “Does it bother you?” She asks Revali, but her eyes never leave Zelda. “Thinking that Link will be reborn, time and time again without you?”

“Hm,” Revali hums as he turns the idea over in his head. “No,” he finally decides with a sigh.

Urbosa quirks an eyebrow that, even in death, is perfect.

“Whether skyward bound, adrift in time, or steeped in the glowing embers of twilight... He can be reborn as many times as he likes.” Revali looks down longingly at Link, not bothering to hide whatever feelings are in his voice. “That Link, right there, will always be my Link. And I, his.”

Urbosa takes it all in with a nod. Link and Zelda are growing ever smaller in their sights, walking away from the ruins of the castle and a time long past into a bright, uncertain future.

This is alright, Revali decides.

“Come on,” Urbosa waves her hand. “We have loved ones who have been waiting a long time to see us on the other side.” She takes another loving look at Zelda. “And now it’s our turn to wait for them.”

“We've already waited a hundred years,” Revali mumbles. He feels that time ought to count for something.

“And with any luck, we’ll be waiting a good long time more.” Urbosa smirks at him.

Revali rolls his eyes and mumbles something about being unappreciated.

“You know, for someone who threatened to kill Link just about everyday when we were alive,” Urbosa examines her fingernails. “You’re having an awfully hard time letting go.”

“Oh, will you shut it?” Revali clicks his beak at her. “Pass on already.”

“See you there, bird brain.” Urbosa gives him a little mock salute. With one last look at Link and Zelda, she whispers quietly, “Take care good care of her…”

And then Urbosa is gone, like the gentle flicker of a candle flame at the end of its wick.

Finally left in peace, Revali folds his arms and turns back to survey Hyrule. The sky is clear again, enough so that he can see Vah Medoh in the distance, perched over Rito Village as a watchful protector once again.

This is alright, Revali decides.

“I’ve already waited one hundred years, anyway. I'll see you there, Link...”

* * *

Link feels a gust of wind tugging his hair, and stops to look back at the castle. Noticing that he’s stopped. Zelda turns to follow his gaze.

Another gentle breeze blows as Link and Zelda stare upon the ruins of Hyrule Castle, framed by the rising sun behind it, bringing them the new day.

And beyond that, an open, blue sky.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you. Thank you, thank you, thank you. I can't express it enough. Whether you've just started and finished the fic, or if you've been with me since the beginning, thank you. Your hits, kudos, and comments are what made this happen. This is the first time I've written anything of this length, and I am so thankful to all of you for sticking with me. I've been humbled and inspired by all your support. Thank you, thank you, thank you.
> 
> Also, the one-shot sequel is on it's way!!! I hope to have it up in a week and a half, by 1/24 at the latest. If that's something that interests you, please subscribe or check back! 
> 
> Thank you, thank you, thank you!!!


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